


The Blessed Realm

by susanna



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Wordcount: Over 200.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-17
Updated: 2009-03-17
Packaged: 2017-11-26 03:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 160
Words: 374,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/646109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/susanna/pseuds/susanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Danzou has become Hokage of Konoha, Naruto has to leave the village. Sasuke, on the other hand, is forced by his team to find some legendary Blessed Realm. Both parties meet in a town that is familiar to us, but rather strange to our young ninjas, who suddenly find themselves confronted with modern world politics and modern world morality, including the acceptance of homosexuality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue Part 1

The Blessed Realm

Prologue – Part 1

Naruto and Sakura had made a habit of meeting in Kakashi's room in the hospital, before or after Naruto's turn of watching over the workers who rebuilt the walls of Konoha, and when Sakura had a break between two shifts at the hospital. There was much work for both of them these days, so that they were on double shifts, and they had hardly enough time to sleep, so that even Naruto, with his seemingly unexhaustable resources of chakra was beginning to feel the strain of it, yet still they met in Kakashi's room every evening, or in the morning if this was not possible, to see each other, to talk, to relax, and to think opf something else than the immediate needs of their work and their lives. They might speak of happier days in the past during these meetings, or sometimes, more carefully, of the village's future, sometimes of those who had died – lucklily it were not too many, and only Shizune of those who were close to them – or about the progress of Tsunade's recovery, whom they visited too, but not on a daily basis as Kakashi, mainly because Sakura, who had to be available even during her breaks, was not allowed to leave the hospital.

They avoided to talk of Sasuke during these meetings, and least of all they would speak about their plans, or rather their dreams, to search for him and retrieve him, without knowing exactly why they were silent on this subject. Naruto observed this taboo just as much as Sakura did, even though he was burning to talk about his friend, and even though his dreams of taking him back to Konoha was stronger than ever, probably because it seemed more impossible than ever that this dream would come true. He longed to speak to Sakura about it as he knew that she would be the only one to understand him, but he did not dare – some unexplainable fear was holding him back, so he confined himself totalking about their time as genin, so that it was just unavoidable that they would mention Sasuke, and Sakura's smile when this happened was enough for him. 

Kakashi would smile too, faintly, he was still very weak, spoke little, and soemtimes fell asleep wihile his too former students were talking, and just as with Tsunade, Naruto feared that he would never fully recover. Jiraya dead, Tsunade and Kakashi badly wounded and maybe invalid for the rest of their lives – Naruto's life had suddenly taken a turn to the worse, and he did not want to think that it might never change again and get better. It must bot be, he thought. And Sasuke was far away and might never come back.

He thought of the events of this mornings – another turn to the worse – and how he might tell Sakura about as he ascended the stairs to the second floor of the hospital to Kakashi's room. Sakura was late, so he sat down next to Kakashi, asked him how he felt and got the same answer as every day: „Fine, don't worry!“ Naruto had learnt to look out for other signs that told more about his former teacher's health: He still remembered the joy Sakura and he himself had felt when Kakashi had first asked them to go to his flat and bring him his collection of Icha-Icha-novels, and now Naruto on entering Kakashi's room Naruto always looked for the location of the book Kakashi was currently reading: Was it lying next to him on his blanket, or on his nightstand, or on some table, out of reach for him, where the nurse who had washed him in the morning had placed it, because he had not yet summoned the strength to ring for some nurse and tell her to give it to him. (After some initial reluctance and embarrassment he had come to enjoy this, laying all the blame on the nurse who had washed him in the morning.)

Today seemed to have been a good day: Kakashi had been reading when Naruto came in, and after saying: „Fine, don't worry“, he continued to talk: „There is something I want to tell you.“ 

Kakashi paused, and Naruto held his breath, waiting for him to continue, but when Kakashi spooke again it was only to say: „We'll wait for Sakura“, and closed his eyes. Naruto gently lay his hand on Kakashi's, knowing that he was not asleep, and that he would be grateful for this physical contact – when he had first done this, on the advice of some doctor, it had felt awkward, but the doctor (not Sakura but some woman in her thirties) had insisted, and hten he too had seen how Kakashi, who had been too weak to talk then, relaxed when he felt Naruto's hand on his own.


	2. Prologue Part 2

Finally Sakura entered the room: quielty at first, afraid of waking up Kakashi, but he turned to her opening his eyes; he had not been asleep after all. 

Naruto hoped that Kakashi would now tell them what he had to tell, and also he still was impatient to tell of what had happened to him this morning, but Sakura was the first to talk.

„I was kept up by Shikamaru“, she said and produced a letter from her backpack, holding it up so that teh two men could see it. It was written in a neat, round hand, on pink paper, with some fancy drawings of dinosaurs on the edges – obviously not a letter from Shikamaru. If only there had not been those fat black spots, destroying the overall impression of prettiness and neatness. 

„What about it?“ Naruto asked. „Who is it from? What's in it?“

„Female affairs“, Sakura answered. „Temari wrote it. But that's not why I show it to you. It's just – I'd never thought that it would come to this – that a girl can no longer write to her boyfriend without her letter being read by strangers.“

So that was the explanation for the black spots, Naruto thought. „But they trust us in Suna“, he said. „They are our allies. Gaara is my friend. Why should he have his own sister's letters censored?“

„Are you sure it's them who are doing the censoring?“ Sakura asked back.

A few months ago Naruto would have been enraged by the mere idea of this, and have called it a lie. Yet with his recent experiences, not only his encounter with Pain and what he had told him about the history of Konoha, but also with what had happened after the fight had been over, he had learnt that a lot of things were possible in Konoha that he had formerly believed to only happen in far away countries. Though on the other hand he was not sure what to think about censorship – certainly it felt bad for Temari, but on the other hand they had to prevent classified information from getting known outside of Konoha.

„She writes that Shikamaru's letter has arrived with a lot of blackened sentences too“, Sakura continued. „Actually this is what they tried to hide in Temari's letter, but Shikamaru managed to recover the information.He's wondering whether she was able to do the same with what he wrote, as after all she is a fighting nin and not a cryptographer. Else they would long ago have started writing in code.“

She sat down on Kakashi's other side. „I mean, I could understand it if it were something political. But it's nothing, just the private talk of a couple about subjects that only concern the two of them. Shikamaru is crazy that they don't trust him not to betray any secrets of the Leaf, just because he is in love with a girl from Suna.“

„I don't think that they are interested in any political information“, Kakashi entered the conversation. He supported himself on his arms so that he could better talk, and Sakura helped him stuff a big pillow behind his back. „I think they just want them to feel uncomfortable with each other, not being able to speak freely.“

„But they are in love, aren't they? Do tehy want them to break up?“

„You must understand that he is in a sensitive position, training for a job in the cryptography unit. He may think that he can be trusted not to tell anything he learns to Temari, but men usually talk to their lovers and wives about what is on their mind, and generally what happens at work is among it. It is only to be expected that one day he will have to decide between his love and his job...“ 

„But why would there be a problem?“ Naruto asked. „They are our allies, aren't they?“

„They have been our allies for four years now, but before they were our enemies, and they can turn into enemies again at any moment. Alliances between ninja countries are never for eternity, they always only last as long as it seems advantagious. And even with one's allies it is usually a good idea to keep some secrets for yourselves.“

Naruto felt stupefied. This was not the way Kakashi usually talked. 

„If they are lucky they will have to marry“, Kakashi went on, and Naruto wondered again if he had missed some important information. Should it not have been: „If they are lucky they will be allowed to marry?“

„Shikamaru fears that even this won't be possible. And just now when she needs him most they cannot meet.“

„He should not be too pessimistic. They won't risk insulting the Sand by forbidding them to marry if he really got her pregnant. They might, however, ask for proof that it is really him who is the child's father.“

„It's all embarrassing“, Sakura answered. „It's bad enough that everyone knows that Temari is pregnant, and now they even publicly discuss who from. Shikamaru says that what he most longs to do is announce publicly that yes, he is the father, and will marry her. Even though they are not sure yet whether she is really pregnant – only everyone else in Suna and Konoha seems to know. Why do you know about it, anyway?“

„Kurenai told me. She hopes that Temari is pregnant and that Shikamaru will stop bothering her with advice about her unborn child she does not need, Actually, last time he visited iher, it was to ask her for advice about Temari's pregnancy.“

„Which advice has she given to him?“

„What I told you: Hope that they will be allowed to marry.“ 

Naruto wondered why everyone seemed to know about Temari and Shikamaru and only he did not. He tried to imagine Shikamaru as a married man – it might fit him, he thought, he had become so terribly serious and responsible recently. He must be happy to marry the woman he loved, Naruto thought, and unbidden some other thoughts crossed his mind. If he was together with Sakura, ahd nad gotten her pregnant, would he want to marry her? Now? It was difficult to imagine when he was honest about it. Maybe he had grown too used to her turning him down.

„Shikamaru told me that it's getting just too much for him. When he fell in love with Temari he did not imagine that one day he would have to face the authorities of Konoha about it. He feels as if he had suddenly become the hero of some romantic novel, and he has never had the ambition of becoming a hero.“

As in Jiraya's novels, Naruto thought. He still found them boring – in his opinion a story should be about more than two lovers being separated by averse circumstances or their own stupidity, and then overcoming all obstacles, coming together and having mind-blowing sex. 

„If it turns out that she is not pregnant he might even consider that it may be better for both of them if they break up and both look for partners from their own villages“, Sakura said. 

Even though Naruto did not think much of love stories this idea made his heart freeze. 

„The situation as it is now just too difficult. They can hardly see each other . He won't get more than two days off in a row, and when she is visiting here, there are always some ANBU around, chaperoning them so that they have hardly any time to be on their own.“

„You must understand them“, Kakashi said. „The two of them have already shown that they cannot be trusted to act responsibly.“

Not as in Jiraya's novels, Naruto thought. In Jiraya's novels the lovers only had mind-blowing sex when all problems were solved and the story was approaching its end. 

„I would not do it“, he said. „I would not break up with the woman I love only because some old bastards are causing trouble. I would not give up on her.“ 

„You should try to understand them“, Kakashi repeated. „They prefer people to marry within their villages, so that their loyalties are undivided. It is nice to read about lovers who insist on their love and are ready to face the whole world in order to be together, not caring about convention and neglecting what other duties and responsibilities they have, but in real life it is better to be more rational. They are worried about you, too, Naruto.“

Naruto registered that his teacher did not dare to speak openly. 

„I know they are worried“, he replied, and his voice felt heavy even though he had lonved to talk about it since this morning. I was summoned to the Hokage today. He told me that in the future, once the walls of the village were rebuilt, I was to stay within them, and no longer go on missions. The risk of me getting killed, or losing control again over the kyuubi, was too high, he said – I should rather remain here, so that as the jinchuuriki I would be the last weapon, the last resort when it comes to defending the village when the danger was so great that it was worth the risk of the village getting damaged, and me being overcome by the kyuubi.“ And maybe killed, he thought. He still wondered what would happene if he completely lost control.)

He tried to read Sakura's and Kakashi's expressions when he said this, hoping they would be as shocked as he had been this morning, but Sakura only looked sad, as if she had expected it, and Kakashi seemed unmoved, as he always did behind his mask. 

„I have thought for some time now that they were probably going to keep you in Konoha“ he said. „Actually Tsunade suggested this possibility to me.“

When had she seen him? Naruto wondered. She lived in some small house in the outskirts of the village now, weak and fragile as an old woman, far older than she really was, and some people looked after her every day, helping her with the household. Naruto would not have thought that she was able to walk all the way to the hospital to visit Kakashi. 

„It's for your and the village's safety“, Kakashi went on. „You must understand.“

And suddenly Naruto did, though he did not yet understand the full implications of what Kakashi was attempting to convey.

„I understand“, he said in a harsh voice. 

Kakashi reached out for the copy of hte latest volumce of the Icha-Icha-series which had come to lie on the blanket when he had stopped reading on Naruto's entry. He opened it and took two sheets of paper that had been lying inside the book – not the usual, modern paper that was used in Konoha for mundane purposes as administrative affairs of books, but the papyros from which the ninja roles were made.

„Jiraya's will“ he said, giving both sheets of paper to Naruto. 

Naruto looked at them, with tears in his eyes, as it always happened to him when he held somethiing in his hands that came from his former master. But the paper he was looking at now was not written in Jiraya's hand, nor did it look like a will: It was Jiraya's contract with the publishing-house that held the rights for the Icha-Icha-series, granting Jiraya ten percent of the price of every sold copy. 

„It's yours now“, Kakashi said.

Naruto went on reading. „It says that Jiraya has to write a new sequel every year – I don't have to do this, do I?“

„I don't think so. But I think that you should talk to them and explain to them the change of the state of affairs.“

He pointed to the address of the publishing-house at the top of the letter. It was in a town he had never heard of, in some obscure little country in the West.

„I have thought long about it“, Kakashi said. „I know it'`s not easy, but I think it's best if you comply. You have to understand.“

Naruto was under shock. He had not expected this, not from Kakashi. „I understand“, he said. 

„It's not easy for me either“, Kakashi continued, and then in a strange gentle gesture he took both of Naruto's hands, anthe weakness of his touch reminding Naruto that Kakashi would still need a long time to recover. 

„I have always been proud and happy to have you as my student“, he said. „I wish you the best. Take my blessing.“

„Thanks“, Naruto answered, still unable to move.


	3. Prologue Part 3

Sasuke and his team Taka had been resting in some forgotten industrial ruin for more than a fortnight after their fight against the Hachibi's jinchuuriki, but their wounds had not gotten better. Suigetsu remained half liquid, collapsing into a puddle after a few steps on his legs, Juugo was still a child, and Karin's wounds from Sasuke's Amaterasu, after initially seeming to improve, had been inflamed and were torturing her. She kept them hidden beneath her clothes, not allowing any of the men to see them, she only told them how they looked: blue and yellow from the hematomas, black from the burns, dark red and a yellowish white from the blood and pus. She talked whenever they were ready to listen: Suigetsu took a perverted pleasure in listening, just as she seemed to enjoy invoking the worst horror fantasies possible with her tales, and Juugo was too good-natured to tell her to keep her stories to herself. Only Sasuke withdrew whenever the conversation touched the subject of Karin's wounds. He was tempted to tell her to finally stop talking and show them her wounds and prove that they were as bad as she said they were, which he doubted, but he feared the consequences of such a demand.

He was impatient for their wounds to heal because they were slowing him down in his revenge against Konoha, yet on the other hand he was glad that it took them so long because he did not have a plan yet. He had not even made up his mind whether he wanted to destroy Konaha as a whole or to focus on those who were truly responsible for the massacre of his clan... But they were all responsible, weren't they, making the clan move to a ghetto, avoiding them, excluding them from wealth, power and honour of the village, treating them like some dangerous illness and being rather glad when they had all been killed. Anger overcame him, and hatred, and then all the pain of his loss that was so difficult to describe – like a black hole swallowing him, his heart literally aching, his chest pressed together so that he could not breathe – he knew this feeling by now, he knew how to get rid of it: feel for the ground beneath his feet, for the table under his hands, and then concentrate on his revenge: How they would run, trying to escape the flames of his Amaterasu, but in vain, as the flames were faster, how they would fling themselves to the ground when they were caught, trying to extinguish the flames, but without success, as the flames of Amaterasu were inextinguishable, except by himself, and he would not save them, but just watch, as they had watched when his clan was murdered.

It was no good to daydream; he had to think about his plan – a plan to take out the counsellors without destroying the whole village. He knew rationally that this was the wiser and more responsible decision, even though it did not give him the satisfaction that his daydreams about burning all the inhabitants of Konoha to ashes gave him. He did not have any fantasies about killing the Elders and that Danzou Madara had talked about, maybe because he could not give them a face when dreaming about killing them in a slow and painful way. Though on the other hand he never dreamt of killing any villagers he knew personally so that they would have had a face in his daydreams. Dreaming about the destruction of Konoha was simply more satisfying, he thought, because it was more adquate to what he felt when he thought of the murder of his family.

It would not do. He should stop daydreaming and focus on his plans. Whatever his final decision would be he certainly did not want to destroy Konoha for no other reason than not having been able to come up with a plan how to kill the Elders and Danzou and no one else. 

He looked at his teammates who were sitting at the other end of the hall. Karin and Suigetsu were fighting about whose turn it was to do the dishes, and Juugo was preparing the meal. (It had turned out that he was the best cook of the members of team Taka.) He had not freaked out for some time now, not even when Karin and Suigetsu were fighting: He would just beg them to stop, meakly and whining like a child, but he would not transform into a monster: It worked however; they stopped bickering immediately when he began complaining as they were still scared of him.

Sasuke was glad that Juugo had gotten better at least in this respect, even if he had not returned to his grown-up form. It was one of the few emotions left to him that had nothing to do with the murder of his family and his plans for revenge, and Sasuke was well aware of it. He was aware that his dreams of revenge always ended when the revenge was completed, and that he had no idea how his life might continue after this. Sometimes he wondered what his life might have become if he had resigned from taking revenge on Itachi, if he had stayed in Konoha and become a loyal shinobi of the Leaf, never asking about his family's unatoned for murder, holding his service for the village in higher esteem than his family. Having listened to Kakashi's advice, and never learnt about who was truly responsible for the massacre. Life might have been easier, but the person he would have been seemed a complete idiot to him.

Karin and Suigetsu seemed to have come to a compromise: Suigetsu did the dishes while Karin was cutting vegetables for Juugo. 

“Cabbages again”, she said. “Yesterday we had cucumber. Anything else?”

“Rice. We have run out of cucumber now, too. And flour. We still have some oil and salt left.”

Sasuke knew that the discussion was meant for him, even though they pretended to only talk among themselves. They should leave this ruin before his team was openly complaining, maybe even carrying Suigetsu if he still was not able to walk on his own legs. Go to some town, do some grocery shopping, and find out how much money he had still left. He did not want to turn to Madara, who had given them provisions before they had set out to capture the Eight-Tails. He was still reluctant about entering towns and avoided them as well as he could, but if he had to choose between Madara and a town, he would choose the town.

They called for him to have dinner – Juugo dealt out portions that were accurately measured – still sufficient, but not more. They began to eat, silently at first, but when they had stilled their most immediate hunger Karin turned to Juugo, as she did every evening: 

“Tell us about the Blessed Realm you talked about yesterday! That place where all wounds will healed...”

And Juugo began to talk: “Far away, in the West, there is a Blessed Realm where all wounds will be healed, where there is singing and laughter all day, where sorrow and tears are overcome, where parents are never separated from their children and lovers never from each other, and where death himself has lost his power.”

“I don't believe this last one”, Suigetsu replied. “People die everywhere, don't they? Humans are no gods, they don't live forever, and if they try they end up as maniacs, as did Orochimaru.”

“Maybe they don't live forever”, Juugo admitted. “But they don't die of war or crimes, and their doctors can concentrate on illnesses instead of wounds of war, so that they live up to an age of ninety or a hundred years.”

It had become a ritual among the three of them, with every line of the conversation being repeated almost word for word night after night. Sasuke was the only one who was not moved - his family would not be brought back to life, no matter how perfect that place might be. Also he was afraid of what this story might lead to – and there it was indeed, the question he had dreaded from the moment Juugo had first talked of that Blessed Realm, asked by Karin: 

“Can't we go and find that place, Sasuke? We are not getting any better, are we, and we cannot stay in this wilderness. We need to find that place where we can all find healing...”


	4. Chapter One: A Festival

Six weeks had passed since Naruto's arrival at the town where the Icha-Icha-series was published. Things had gone well: the publishing-house had accepted his claim of being Jiraya's heir without any problems. They had even helped him find a small apartment and a job, so that he did not have to worry about his daily needs and had the leisure to explore this place where he had stranded whenever he was not working. 

Life here was very different from what he was used to in Konoha, and even from what he had encountered during his journeys with Jiraya, and most of it still seemed pretty weird to him, even the points that were rather agreeable.

Weekends for example. Two days when most people in this town did not have to work... In Konoha the days of the week had names too, after the planets that had been known of old, but this only had religious meaning now, or no significance at all for people who were not religious, as Naruto and most shinobi of the Leaf. Missions happened on any day of the week, no matter what its name, and when a mission was over they got a day off, meaning that everyone had their days off on different days. 

Here Naruto had found a job as a waiter, meaning that he often had to work on weekends as well; still he felt the difference between weekdays and weekends: People were more relaxed on weekends, more patient, more ready to chat and have fun and less angry when something went wrong, and Naruto was less exhausted on a Friday or Saturday night, even though there were more guests and they stayed longer and got worse drunk. Weekends were definitely something you could get used to. 

What he had not got used to, and probably never would, was being far away from Konoha and the people he loved. Sure, he was living among humans here too, and actually most of them were quite nice, but it was just not the same, they were not the friends he had loved from his childhood. Sometimes in the mornings he would sit in his bed and wonder whether he would ever be able to return to Konoha and see his friends again, and then the world would turn all white, his thoughts stopped, he turned all rigid and it took him some effort to shake it off and get moving again. 

It always got better once he had got up, dressed and gone down to the bistro on the other side of the street to have breakfast – he did not care about breakfast on his own, it was nicer to have a mug of cafe au lait and a croissant and a chat with the waitress at the bistro... He would turn his attention from Konoha and his loneliness to his present life in this town, or to the sport pages of the newspapers that were lying out for the guests of the bistro, or, as today, to the festival that was to begin in half an hour.

Festivals were another aspect of this town that he could get used to. There had been one on the very weekend of his arrival, another one two weeks later, and now that spring was turning into summer, there seemed to be one every weekend, with music and fireworks and lots of food and drinks.

So far Naruto had not had any time to really enjoy them. The restaurant he worked at had put up a stand on the site of the festival, where he had to stay during the festival, selling drinks and takeaway food, and being allowed to walk around and have a look at everything only during his breaks. Today however it was his day off, and he would enjoy it all day. His colleagues had told him that it was one of the biggest festivals of the year, with music, dancing, street artists and plays all over the center of town, not to speak of the food stands, and there was also going to be a parade. 

The only parades Naruto had seen so far were military opes in the capital of the Fire Country, during his journeys with Jiraya. They took place every few years, and Konoha normally sent a delegation to participate in it. Naruto had watched from the sidewalk, growing impatient before the parade had even arrived, someone had given him a flag to wave, so he had waved it dutifully and cheered when everyone else cheered, and turned to Jiraya to ask him to get somewhere else before even the first mounted troups had passed. 

This parade was going to be different. Naruto had been told that it was famous and attracted a lot of tourists every year, even from other countries, and he was eager to see it. It was to begin in front of the town hall, and Naruto was there in time; still he had difficulties finding a place from where he had a good view. He met one of his colleagues, carrying his little daughter on his shoulders, dragging his girlfriend behind him who was looking at some piece of paper and not at where she was going. 

“Hi, Naruto, you are watching it too?” the colleague greeted Naruto. “You'll like it, it's loud and funny and colourful, just like you!” 

“Yeah, thanks”, Naruto answered. “And you're going to watch it with your kid?”

“Sure. She's been talking about it constantly for the last few weeks. Always about how many sweets she would collect.”

The girlfriend had caught up. “Let's get somewhere else”, she said, “where it's not that crowded. I am afraid of her getting trampled on.”

She showed the piece of paper she had been looking at to her boyfriend, and Naruto could also have a look at it: It was a map of the center of town with the course the parade was going to take. There was also a second map with numbers on it, and on the side the numbers were listed again, with the name of the stage or the stand at the site of the number. 

“Where did you get this?” Naruto asked. 

“It was in today's newspaper”, she answered. “In the Morning Messenger.”

The little girl on her father's shoulders was getting impatient. “When does it start?” she asked. “I want to get somewhere where I can see!”

Her parents apologized for having to leave. “You want to join us?” Naruto's colleague asked, but Naruto declined: Seeing this little family made him feel lonely and sad again, regretting not only the lack of a caring family during his early childhood but also the loss of his second family, the villagers of Konoha... 

He tried to shrug it off and luckily the parade started now: With groups of people on foot, and with carts, pulled by oxen or horses, sometimes four, six or even eight of them. The horses were adorned with a lot of ribbons, and the carts were painted in bright colours and decorated with balloons and little flags, and people were standing on top of them, throwing sweets. The people on foot were throwing sweets too, they waved at the bystanders and these waved back and cheered, and their cheers were genuine. Sometimes it happened that a person standing at the side saw an acquaintance marching in the parade, ran into the street, embraced his friend and for some minutes walked with the parade until he decided that he would watch again. A lot of the people on foot, but also those on the carts were wearing fancy costumes, often men dressed up as women or women dressed up as men, but others just wearing what they perceived as sexy, showing a lot of naked skin and sometimes a lot of naked belly. Others just wore their everyday clothes and looked like ordinary people. 

Naruto was not sure what to think of it. It was not what he had expected, though he was not sure what he had expected. Maybe more dignity, the participants of the parade showing more self-respect and not dressing up as caricatures of themselves, fulfilling every popular cliché. On the other hand the parade was meant to be fun, and so Naruto decided to blend in and cheer and scream as everyone else did. He even caught some candies, then he remembered that they were meant for little children and that he should not run for them. 

He watched till the last cart was gone, then he turned to the central market place where the festival itself was going to take place. People were busy putting up tables and benches for the visitors, the technicians were testing their amplifiers and loudspeakers, and some stands had already begun to sell food. 

Naruto found one that was run by some fanclub for Lesbian Utopian literature which sold really good cakes, so that he bought some and sat down to eat it even though he was not interested in that kind of literature at all. Having finished his cake he went on and got stuck at the table of an anti-AIDS-initiative which offered books and brochures too, but Naruto was far more fascinated by the condoms that were on display, not only in all conceivable colours but also in different flavours, most neatly rolled up, but some spread over bananas, cucumbers or the narrow ends of pears, which Naruto thought a bit obscene. 

Jiraya had told what condoms were, “a protection you wear again illnesses you catch from prostitutes”, and Naruto had imagined some weird kind of armour, or some ninja garments with some weird symbols of protection, but certainly nothing that was as trivial as some thin plastic foil that served as a physical barrier, and a little bit too obvious about how it was to be used, at least for Naruto's taste. 

“You want some of the coloured ones?” the woman at the stand asked him. “They are the same as the transparent standard quality ones of the same firm, just coloured, you won't feel any difference.”

She was a middle-aged lady, rather plump, wearing normal, rather boring clothes and looking all in all as if she was a hard-working woman with a job and three kids in puberty who gave little thoughts to wearing fancy costumes as the ones worn by the participants of the parade and who probably had little opportunity to use the items she sold. (Naruto was wrong with this last supposition; she was a married woman after all.) 

“Or what about these boxes, to give it to your girlfriend? We sell them with content, but you can refill them, of course, and she can carry the box in her handbag without anyone suspecting what's inside.”

Naruto imagined Sakura's reaction if he presented her with one of these boxes. Probably she'd beat him up and call him a pervert.

“Or one of these plushies? They have a zipper on their belly, and you have to keep them filled with condoms if you want them to look cute.” 

There were mice and kitten and a little dog. Maybe, if I ask her, she will also have a frog with a zipper, Naruto thought. Or a fox.

“I don't have a girlfriend”, he said. 

“Oh, I am sorry, but we cannot help you in that matter”, the woman said. “You will have to find one yourself. But I am convinced that you won't have to search for a long time.”

The words did not cheer him up but made him sad, not because he missed having a girlfriend but because he was far from home. Actually he had difficulties imagining finding himself a girlfriend here, and then being torn between staying with her in this town and returning to Konoha whenever the situation had changed so that he could live in Konoha without being a prisoner. 

The woman was preparing to show him more of what she sold, and just to stop her he bought a Valentine kit, a cubic box already wrapped up in pink paper with little white hearts and some fancy ribbons. “Everything you need for a romantic evening with your partner” it said on a sign next to the box.

Naruto also took some brochures that were given away for free: He had realized that he needed to know far more than what he had learnt from Jiraya, be it in person or from his books. The kit was rather expensive, but the woman told him that most of the money went to some foundation that supported AIDS-patients.

He went on, deciding to finally get the Morning Messenger with the festival programme inside. Newspapers were also a novelty to Naruto, though not completely: They had a newspaper in Konoha, a rather thin one, which was mostly read by old people who wanted to know who had died and who had had his birthday. (Old meant older than thirty. Ninjas often died on missions and those who had retired from active service needed to know about their friends and acquaintances.) Then there were reports about the annual meeting of the rose gardeners' association or the chicken breeders' club. In the capital of the Fire Country the newspapers actually contained some pages about politics, as the newest announcements of the Daimyou, and who among the noblemen was rising or falling in his favour, and there were two newspapers one could choose from.

Here there was a great variety of papers and magazines, and even papers from other countries were offered, for example those of the Capital of the Fire Country, and even newspapers from countries beyond the ocean the mountains and the desert, where people had no idea about ninjas and spoke a different language. The newspapers contained news about everything, not just deaths and birthdays. 

Naruto had taken a liking for the sports pages and the mixed news of the Morning Messenger, which he read either at the bistro where he had breakfast or at the pub where he worked. Everyone here was interested in sports and you simply had to be up to date about the failures and successes of the local football team if you wanted to contribute to the conversation on Mondays. 

So he went to the kiosk on the other side of the market place with the intention of buying the Morning Messenger with the festival programme inside, but when he was about to take it out of the rack another newspaper caught his eye: On the front page was a picture of the re-erected Hokage Tower of Konoha, rebuilt at a site where the wall of rock was still intact, and they were already busy cutting the portraits of the Hokages into the wall – the newest one had been the first to be finished. 

Naruto read the head line above the picture: “New Hokage: Konoha to be again the Number One of the Ninja World”, and below it, in smaller letters: “Military spending rises by fifty percent as defence becomes the first priority. Yet according to rumours the kyuubi's jinchuuriki is still missing.” 

Naruto took the newspaper out of the rack to have a closer look at the article. He did not notice that someone was approaching him – only that suddenly an arm was around his shoulders, He suppressed an impulse to shove the stranger away, as this was considered impolite in this town. 

“Bad news, isn't it?” he heard the voice that belonged to the arm around his shoulders. Naruto, unbelievingly, turned his head: Sasuke was standing at his side.


	5. Chapter Two: Unexpected Guests

Sasuke did not turn to Naruto, he kept looking straight ahead, not at the newspaper, as Naruto had first thought, but at some point far away, apparently unmoved by the encounter. 

Naruto's pride was hurt, and he did his best to appear as calm as Sasuke, though of course he was surprised and excited beyond words.

“What are you doing here?” Sasuke asked, and Naruto wished that he had been the first to ask this question. “Shouldn't you be training to become Hokage?”

Naruto straightened. “I am buying a newspaper, as you must have noticed yourself”, he replied. 

“You travel far to purchase a simple paper, don't you think?”

“You have to, nowadays, if you are looking for reliable news of Konoha.”

Naruto shook off Sasuke's hand that was still lying on his shoulders, took the newspaper out of the rack and went into the shop, leaving Sasuke staring at his back. Sasuke had not expected this reaction from Naruto though what he had expected he did not know. He had seen Naruto walking to the newspaper shop and decided that to form any plans about how to get at that Danzou and the old advisors he needed some information, and that he might get this information from Naruto. Also, though he would not have admitted this to himself, he was really curious about what Naruto was doing here. 

In the meantime Naruto was, as he had pointed out to Sasuke, buying the newspaper with the Hokage tower on the title page. I should have taken him with me into the shop, he thought while he was searching for change. He may be gone by now. But pride kept him from turning his head: He would show Sasuke that he could appear just as cool as him. Only when he had already paid for the newspaper he remembered that his original intention had been to buy the Morning Messenger, however the shop-keeper assured him that there was also a festival programme in the paper he had just bought. 

Sasuke had waited for him – for a second Naruto allowed his relief to show on his face, then, seeing Sasuke's stern, expressionless face he hid his own joiy and tried to appear calm. 

“Just for the record”, he said. “I am still planning to become Hokage.”

Sasuke smirked. “Are you also still trying to drag me back to Konoha?” he asked. “Because if you are not, I might invite you for a drink.”

It took Naruto several seconds to find an answer: “I am not a girl. I can pay for myself.”

“You may pay for the food”, Sasuke replied.

Naruto hesitated, then he realized that he had not promised anything to Sasuke and that he simply could not let this opportunity pass. 

“Deal”, he said, and Sasuke answered, his features relaxing for the first time during their conversation: “My team is sitting over there.”

Naruto's heart sank when he heard these words. Kakashi had mentioned to them that Sasuke had probably founded a team of his own, but he had repressed this knowledge: Sasuke had found new companions, he realized, and maybe he now regarded them as his friends... (It did not occur to him that back in Konoha he had a lot of other friends too, and that even here he had already found some new acquaintances, even though he hesitated calling them his friends.)

Wooden tables and benches had been put up on the market place by now, and Sasuke's team had found itself some places in the vicinity of one of the main stages, the second biggest one in fact. They had found themselves some food too, balls of dough fried in hot fat, covered with powdered sugar and some liquor that even looked sweet – the very essence of everything Sasuke found disgusting, and he thought that his team, too, should eat more healthy food.

“We would have bought some for you too”, Karin said. “But we did not think that you would like it.”

“It's okay”, Sasuke answered. “I have been invited.”

“So you have managed to persuade your acquaintance from Konoha to join us and to pay for you food in the bargain”, Suigetsu observed. 

“Sure. He used to follow me over the whole continent - now he had just to cross the market place.”

Naruto felt irritated and insecure, as it happens when one joins a conversation that has begun before one has been present. These people were not just Sasuke's subordinates he realized – there was enough trust among them to allow them to make fun of him. Also he wondered why Sasuke had chosen a child for his team: A boy of some twelve years, the same age as Konohamaru, the same age he and Sasuke had been when they had been made genin and forced to work together. 

“I am not his acquaintance, but his friend”, he told the three strangers, meeting sceptical looks from the two adults, but astonishment and admiration from the boy.

“May I introduce?” Sasuke said. “Juugo, Karin, Suigetsu – this is Naruto, my friend from Konoha.” He turned to Naruto: “Let's get some food and drinks for ourselves.”

He headed straight away to the next food stand, but Naruto suggested to have a look around before they bought anything, much to his relief, as the food they sold at that stand was foreign and unknown to him, and it smelled of fat. He followed Naruto to the next stand, and then to the next and the next, stopping not only at the food stands but also at stands where people sold wooden toys, or soap made from herbs, cheap jewellery and old records. There were also more stands run by clubs and initiatives but Naruto took care to keep Sasuke away from the one where they sold condoms spread over fruits.

Sasuke had soon lost his sense of direction in the maze of narrow streets, between colourful stands, confused by a variety of smells, by the music that was now being played on all stages and that had merged into an assonant cacophony once it reached his ears, but most of all by the crowds around him which at some points were so thick that it was almost impossible to pass through without touching anyone. He wondered why other people did not mind it – Naruto did not seem to have any problems with it either.

“What do you want for a drink?” he asked him in a vain attempt of at least appearing the one who was in charge, but Naruto refused to answer: “First choose your food”, he replied. “They sell the same drinks everywhere.”

Sasuke had to admit that this was true, yet he found it difficult to decide – there were all kinds of food, traditional, modern and foreign, but whatever it was, it was sold in some oily, fatty version that made him sick. Only when they had returned to the market place from the other side and when Sasuke was on the point of asking Naruto to simply go to a shop and buy some food there, they found a stand run by an initiative of single fathers where they sold some home-made salads.

“Now you choose your drink”, he told Naruto. 

Naruto decided for a drink with a strange outlandish name, which, as he explained, consisted of a mixture of lemonade and beer. 

“We are not legal yet”, Sasuke reminded him. 

“Normally on these festivals I sell beer”, Naruto replied. “There is not much alcohol in the mix, and it's refreshing and not too sweet.”

Sasuke gave in. He felt a bit stupid at the side of Naruto who seemed to know everything about this town and the festivals they held here, and who moved comfortably in the middle of crowds of strangers that to him, Sasuke, were scary after so many years spent in the company of only a few people. He gave Naruto the money he needed to pay for the drinks and left it to him to order food and drinks (and pronounce the foreign names.) He was glad when they returned to his team – surrounded by people he knew he felt more confident. 

Careful not to be noticed he looked at Naruto, who was sitting next to him. Well at ease, as it seemed, effortlessly connecting to strangers and now making smalltalk with Suigetsu and Karin – Sasuke just hoped that they watched their mouths, not as when he had arrived with Naruto, when Suigetsu had spoken as if there had been anything remarkable about Naruto following him to their table.

“So have you seen the parade?” Naruto asked. “How did you like it?”

“We only got to see the last carts”, Karin answered. “We did not expect it, and we first did not know what to make of it, but then it was quite interesting.”

“You did not come for the parade? But it's famous! It attracts a lot of tourists from neighbouring towns and even from other countries. At least you will get to see the festival now – it lasts until ten, otherwise the neighbours will complain. Not me, though I also live here.”

“Where?” Karin asked curiously.

“In one of the side streets... The Shoemakers' Lane, just around the corner at that jewellery shop... Where are you staying, by the way?” 

“We don't know yet”, Suigetsu answered. “Our captain tends to forget about mundane matters as this.”

“But you should. On a festival weekend as this it's almost impossible to find anything. The whole town is full of tourists.”

“We don't plan to stay overnight”, Sasuke said. “We will buy new provisions, and then leave.”

Naruto saw the change of expression on the faces of Sasuke's companions: Annoyance on Karin's, anger on Suigetsu's, open disappointment and sadness on that of the young boy's whose name he had forgotten.

“You can stay at my place”, he offered.

Sasuke froze, but Suigetsu looked triumphant.

“That's a very generous offer”, Karin said. “It's very kind of you to invite us even though you hardly know us.”

“But we certainly won't decline your offer, as it saves us from a great inconvenience and allows us to spend the day at the festival and enjoy it to its end.”

The young boy was beaming. 

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who was looking down at his food, certainly burning with anger, and desperate about his impotence. His companions did not seem to care about him. 

“Do you know more about this festival?” Karin asked. “What's going on everywhere?”

“Oh, sure I know”, Naruto answered and produced the newspaper from his backpack, Sasuke's eyes following him as a hungry dog's eye may follow the movements of his owner's hands when he is eating a sandwich with some meat on it. Naruto opened the paper in the middle, looking for the festival programme. Soon he had found it.

“Here it is all listed”, he told Sasuke's team, and Sasuke too, if he had been listening. “Music until ten, dancing, theatre, clowns, jugglers, pantomimes, whatever your heart desires.”

“What kind of music?” Suigetsu asked. 

“Oh, everything. On the stage over there it's rock, at the front of the town hall celtic folklore, then there is a stage where they play the greatest hits of the last decades, one with punk music, in the subterrain of the town hall it's jazz, and in the corner between the main temple and the town hall, where it is a bit more quiet than elsewhere, it's traditional music.”

He looked at Sasuke, wondering whether this last point would get him interested, but Sasuke remained as unmoved as ever. 

“Is there a list of bands that are playing?” Suigetsu went on.

“You won't know them”; Naruto answered, passing him the newspaper. “Most of them are locals, just starting their career. In the evening some of those who have managed to become famous beyond this town are going to perform.”

Suigetsu read the programme with interest, at least he managed to give himself the appearance of reading it with interest, as if the names of the bands meant something to him. Sasuke wondered how contrary to himself Suigetsu had managed to learn something about music at Orochimaru's place. Or he had heard a lot of music before he had been imprisoned. 

“What's going on here?” Karin asked, pointing to the stage next to them, in his and Naruto's back. 

“Oh, here there will some dancing”, Naruto answered. “They are already putting up the floor.”

Sasuke had thought that it was a carpet being rolled out, but it was not dark red and soft and woolly. It was smooth, a light brown, and the pattern imitated that of parquet. 

“Let's stay here”, Karin said. “It may be fun.”


	6. Chapter Three: Of Children and Sharp, Pointy Items

Chapter Three: Of Children and Sharp, Pointy Items

Sasuke still burnt to read the article on the title page of the newspaper Naruto had bought, but he would rather have rather bitten off his tongue than admit it. There would be enough time and opportunity, he thought, now that his teammates had more or less asked Naruto to give them shelter for the night. He hated it – it was not at all what he had planned. Enter town, buy some food, leave: this had been his plan. But when they had discovered the last carts of the parade his team had urged him to stop and watch, even though for his taste there had been far too many half-naked ugly people, and the music was too loud and seemed to be nothing more than noise in his eyes, or ears. They had insisted on being allowed to have a look at the festival itself, and on sitting down and getting something to drink and simply having a break and enjoying themselves – and now they were stuck at this place until tomorrow morning. 

Sure, it had been his idea to go over to Naruto and invite him for a drink, so that he might get some information on Konoha. So far he had not got any, and he had no idea at all how to open this subject. He did not want to give the impression of still caring about his home village (and encouraging Naruto to renew his efforts of dragging him back), and of course telling Naruto the truth about his need for information was out of question. Maybe his idea of getting any information had been unrealistic from the beginning, he thought, maybe he should not have addressed Naruto but rather have bought the newspaper himself.

But a newspaper would not tell him what he most longed to know: What Naruto was doing in this strange place, apparently on his own, far away from Konoha. He would have to be patient – he could be now, this at least was an advantage of them staying at Naruto's place for the night... He decided to relax and to accept the new situation: at least his team were happy, which was of no little importance: They had been complaining lately saying that he did not put enough effort into their search for a place which probably only existed in their dreams. He just wondered how long it would take them to realize that their quest was hopeless – hopefully before he ran out of money. Indeed, staying at Naruto's place had some advantages. 

It was still an awkward situation, after so many years of avoiding him, and nothing to talk about, only a lot of subjects he'd rather not touch. Again he envied Naruto who dealt with the situation far better than he did: discussing the bands that played at the festival with Suigetsu, both showing an astounding knowledge of foreign music. Only sometimes he looked to his side, at Sasuke, and then Sasuke felt that Naruto was nervous too, and that his discussion with Suigetsu at least partly served the purpose of covering up this nervousness. Sasuke felt strangely satisfied with this discovery.

Suigetsu brought another round of drinks, which Sasuke paid for: Another of these mixes of lemonade and beer. He liked it actually – he liked the bitterness, which, as he did not know, was the bitterness of beer. He felt a bit drowsy, which he attributed to the sunny afternoon and the forced inactivity – having no experience with alcohol he did not recognize that he was a bit drunk. He did not mind it – he could afford being a bit tired, he thought, not constantly on the alert – no one would attack them in this peaceful town, in the middle of a market place full of people, and he could not do anything here either, just listen to Suigetsu's explanations about different styles of punk music. 

Next to them there were two women with a bunch of children each, the oldest were two boys of about twelve, quite independent already, running around by themselves most of the time and only occasionally returning to their mothers to ask them for money they needed for the various children's games that were offered here. Only later they got tired and returned for good, showing their mothers the plastic toys they had won at some arrow-shooting or ball-throwing stand, and the mothers accordingly admired the toys and congratulated their sons for their achievements. 

Children's games, Sasuke thought. At their age I was already a genin, doing serious missions, risking my life. Risking my life to protect Naruto, his thoughts went on, and he smiled inwardly. It had been the second happiest time of his life, the happiest being of course the time before the murder of his family, before Itachi had begun to behave strangely.

This is a lazy place, he thought, people spending a whole day eating and drinking and listening to music, playing silly games and spoiling their children with prizes for achievements that would have seemed ridiculous to him when he was seven. But he recognized the smile on their mothers' faces: It was the same as his own mother's smile, or Itachi's smile, when he had succeeded at something. He had always had difficulties accepting their praise, as he had always known that it was still far behind what Itachi could do. 

Since the guy who claimed that he was Uchiha Madara (Sasuke still was not sure whether he should believe him) had told him that Itachi had murdered the clan on orders of the Leaf Sasuke had thought a lot of his family and the time when they had still been alive and when Itachi had still been a loving brother... He wondered how Naruto reacted to these mothers and their kids, having no conscious memories of a mother at all.

Actually Naruto did not pay them any attention. He was far too nervous and excited about his own situation: It's not real, he thought, it cannot be real, and he went on talking to Suigetsu as if they would all vanish once they fell silent. He is here, he thought, in flesh and blood, a bit gloomy and brooding all by himself instead of blending in with the general joy of the festival, but this is only proof that it is really him. They will stay at my place, they will still be here tomorrow morning. His thoughts stopped. Formerly they would have gone on: Finding Sasuke, persuading him to return, bringing him back to Konoha in triumph and handing him over to Sakura. Not fighting and forcing him to return, however, he had long ago understood that this would not work, even though his teachers still seemed to believe that they could use it as an incentive to make him train harder. As if he needed this! But none of his jutsus, nor his strength would help him when it came to persuading Sasuke to return, he'd need words for this, and often when he had lain in his bed before falling asleep he had thought of such words, and dreamt of meeting Sasuke and saying them, and Sasuke would be moved by his words and come back. But in his dreams they had always met somewhere in the wilderness, and they had been on their own, not surrounded by thousands of people and by Sasuke's own team, and most important of all, Sasuke had behaved completely differently. None of his words would do now.

He could only try to enjoy these moments when Sasuke was sitting next to him, close enough for him to reach out and touch him, and then talk nonsense to Suigetsu, pretending he knew about music when all he knew were the bands that had happened to play at the restaurant where he worked. He drank too much, now beer without lemonade, then he realized that it was foolish to spoil this evening with Sasuke by getting drunk and stopped.

Workers were still busy fastening the outdoor dancefloor, the musicians adjusting their loudspeakers, but more and more people turned up, waiting for the dancing to begin. A juggler appeared, making use of the crowd that had already assembled. Naruto had seen him before on other festivals and knew that his performance (and his jokes) were always the same, yet since he liked it he turned around to watch the juggler. Sasuke's companions were also curious, even Sasuke turned around without losing his usual appearance of detachedness. Naruto wondered if he had ever seen a juggler: There weren't any in Konoha, and Naruto himself had seen his first juggler during his journeys with Jiraya, but he had been nothing compared to the jugglers who performed in this town. 

Sasuke's companions also behaved as if they were seeing a juggler for the first time in their lives, cheering with the crowd and shouting “yes!” when the juggler asked: “Do you want to see seven balls?” and when he complained that he had not heard anything, they shouted louder. When he lit his torches Karin got all stiff and scared, and when he began to juggle them, and let some drop – accidentally as he pretended, purposely as Naruto knew – she screamed at a high-pitched voice, and when the juggler asked: “Shall I juggle with five torches?” she shouted “No!” at the top of her voice so that everyone turned at them. 

“Don't worry, it's just normal fire”, Suigetsu comforted her, making Naruto wonder what abnormal fire might be. 

Only the boy in Sasuke's team – Naruto had forgotten hs name as he never said anything – looked completely unimpressed, and when the juggler lighted even more torches to juggle them with an assistant he just said: “Odd numbers are easy – what's difficult are the even numbers.”

Not only his companions but also the families sitting next to them stared at him. 

“You mean you are better than that guy?” one of the twelve-year-old boys asked.

“Sure I am. Sasuke, give me the kunai!” 

Wordlessly, Sasuke passed them over, and he juggled with three, five and seven, but also, as he had promised, with four and six kunais. Blank metal blinked in the sun, and Naruto had difficulties following the kunais' trajectories in the air. The children were in awe.

“Can I try too?” the boy asked.

“First learn to juggle with balls”, Sasuke's companion replied. 

The other boy checked the kunai: “They are real”, he said in a mixture of horror and fascination. “Really sharp. Cool.”

The two mothers looked disapprovingly, finding this not cool at all. I should have warned Sasuke about local attitudes towards children and weapons and children and weapons in combination, Naruto thought. He remembered his first real mission with Sasuke, how he had cut his own hand swearing never again to stay back behind Sasuke as he had during their first fight. Sakura had protested against it, calling him an idiot, not understanding how important this was to him. Girls never understood, he thought, just as these mothers did not understand that their sons needed to learn how to deal with weapons, or that they needed to learn risky and dangerous things as juggling with sharp kunai. They thought that even juggling with balls was too dangerous when it was done between tables full of glasses and sent the boys away: Other children followed. The professional juggler seemed irritated, he pretended to continue his show as if nothing had happened but Naruto noticed that it was much shorter than on other occasions.

It was all for the better as the first dancers were now appearing. In the newspaper Naruto had read that there had been a tournament in the morning, and that now the finale was going to take place. The music had started, and the first couples were entering the removable dancefloor: Two women first, then two male couples. He felt Sasuke stiffen in shock and surprise – maybe I should have warned him, Naruto thought. His companions looked a bit sceptical too, but not surprised as they had read about the tournament in the festival programme. 

“What's that?” Sasuke asked. “What are they doing?”

“Dancing, what else?”

“But two men? Out in the public?”

“They do. It's Gay Pride Day, and it's traditional that they open the dancing. Later you can dance too.”

“I don't dance”, Sasuke snapped back. “Anyway, what's Gay Pride Day? What are they proud of?”


	7. Chapter Four: It's their day

Naruto had to think before he could come up with an answer to Sasuke's question. People had told him that it was Gay Pride Day, and he had watched the parade of course, where people had made fun of themselves and behaved as if they were proud of being not only gay but also rather weird, but otherwise he had not given much thought to the name.

“I think they are proud that they are no longer ashamed”, he finally answered. “It used to be different: They hid themselves as they do everywhere else, and only met at secret places, and later there were demonstrations that often got beaten up.”

“Why did they not learn to defend themselves?” Sasuke asked.

“I don't know.” It was not a question that had occurred to him, nor had he read anything about it in the newspaper – it had just been taken it for granted that it was impossible that they might have struck back. “Maybe they were outnumbered.”

“It would not have happened to me.”

“Not everyone is a ninja genius”, Naruto replied irritatedly, and a bit annoyed by Sasuke's questions. “Anyway, it does not happen anymore, at least not here. It's a festival for the whole family now, and straight and gay people are celebrating together.”

“Families?” Sasuke asked. “Do they think that this” - he waved his hand in a vague gesture that might have included the dancers, or the whole festival, Naruto did not know - “is for children?”

“You don't have any problems, do you?” one of the two mothers next to them said, challenging Sasuke, her eyes sparkling. The other soothingly laid her hand on her friend's – lover's? - arm. “There is no one having sex on the open stage, is there?” 

“Please excuse him”: Naruto apologized in Sasuke's stead. “My friend has just arrived and has no idea about people's attitudes here. He certainly does not mean any harm.” 

He turned to Sasuke. “You will have to get used to it”, he told him. “Gay people live here completely in the open, just as straight people. You can see them everywhere, on park benches, or lying on the lawn, kissing and making out, or walking hand in hand in the streets. I had to get used to it too.”

Truth was that while he hardly cared any more about the gay and lesbian couples among the people who made out on the lawn of Heroes' Park on sunny afternoons, he had not yet got used to the fact that couples were making out in public at all, fully dressed of course, but often so close that if they had been naked they just could not have avoided having sex. Back in Konoha, a married couple walking hand in hand was a rare sight, and unmarried couples did not touch each other in public at all. (Though with the revelations on Temari and Shikamaru Naruto had had to realize that he had been a bit naive about what they did in private.)

Naruto was not a very moralistic person in questions of sexuality, and he did his best to get used to local customs here, but what he had not get used to, and probably never would, was watching people kiss while he was all on his own in this town. Yet this was nothing he would admit to Sasuke. 

“I will manage”, Sasuke answered haughtily, and then in a rather stiff and formal tone he apologized to the lesbian mothers sitting next to them: “It was not my intention to offend you. I am sorry if I did.”

He was not so much shocked but rather angry – angry at Naruto who thought that he had to protect him as if he were a little child – him who had survived three years at Orochimaru's place and could not be shocked by anything any more at all. Also he had not been shocked – well, not shocked, but surprised – by what the dancers did but by the fact that they did it in public – that they were not ashamed of it, as Naruto had put it. What they did was harmless in his opinion, though he was not sure whether he would have let any little children watch it – some of the dancers' figures were a bit too reminiscent of kissing and embracing in his opinion. There were some little girls watching the dancing, he noticed, no boys – well, that was only natural, girls loved dancing. He liked it, actually, too, but he would not admit it to Naruto: Lean well-muscled men, in no way effeminate, moving graciously and in harmony with each other, showing off their strength in extravagant acrobatic figures, and then, when they got to the fast dances, whirling their partners around without ever getting confused about their feet. If only they had not made such a show of taking off their shirts and drying themselves between dances, he thought, presenting their clean-shaved chests to all the world. They did not sweat that much, dancing could not be that exhausting...

Juugo was out of sight, having fun as it seemed. Again, Sasuke was glad for him.

The tournament lasted for half an hour, then the winners were announced. 

“Do you understand this?” Naruto asked him. “The ones with the red scarfs around their waists were much better, don't you think?”

Saskue had not paid that much attention to the different couples and their skills, he had rather absorbed the tournament as a whole.

“I can't tell, I don't understand anything about dancing”, he said. 

The dancefloor began to fill with other couples now, some quite good too, others rather standing around and trying to move their feet to the rhythm of the music. Soon the place was too crowded for any decent dancing, and Sasuke lost interest.

Karin, however, was getting interested. “It's now open for straight couples too”, she observed. “What about us?” 

“I already told you: I don't dance”, Sasuke replied. 

She turned to Naruto: “Do you dance?” she asked him.

Naruto was surprised: No one had ever asked him to dance, Karin looked quite pretty, in a weird way, but she was Sasuke's teammate and he was insecure whether it would be okay to accept. He looked at Sasuke who shook his head, and Naruto was on the point of accepting just to annoy him, then he remembered that Sasuke, not Karin was his friend, and that he wanted to enjoy every minute in his company. 

Luckily some stranger asked her to dance “as the little boys around you can't appreciate you”, to which she accepted, and Suigetsu excused himself too: In the festival programme he had read about some band which he absolutely wanted to hear, meaning that suddenly Naruto and Sasuke found themselves being on their own, embarrassed again, not knowing what to say. 

“Your teammates are having fun”, Naruto said. 

Karin was the only one they could see from their places, she had already found a new partner...

“They are good at it”, Sasuke answered. “No need to worry about them.”

“We can have another look around the festival if you want.”

“I have to look after their stuff...”

“I will help you carry it”, Naruto offered, and so they divided the possessions of Sasuke's team among themselves and began to walk around, listening to the music from the various stages, getting some more food and drinks, with Naruto again paying for the food and Sasuke for the drinks. Just as if nothing had ever happened, Naruto tried to convince himself, as if Sasuke had never left Konoha and had never attempted to kill him, as if he was just a friend, visiting him in this town where he had recently moved to, and Naruto showed him around. The illusion did not work, they hardly talked, and Naruto was afraid of saying anything that might make Sasuke disappear.

On their way around the festival they met Sasuke's teammates, and Naruto made use of the opportunity to tell them again where he lived and who to get the key from if they arrived earlier than he did. Only Juugo, whom they met last, offered to take care of the stuff they were carrying around, and Naruto wondered why Sasuke accepted this offer just from the child of his team. Anyway, I will still have to ask him why he is travelling around with a little child, he reminded himself. 

They ended up in front of the main stage where a play was going to be performed. Already big crowds had gathered in front of the stage, but they found themselves places in the background on benches, at a table. Naruto was not too eager to see the play, he thought it would be just like Jiraya's novels, all about love.

“The guys at work told me about it: It's every year the same, some romantic comedy rewritten so that the protagonists are lesbian or gay.” 

He took the festival programme from his backpack. “‘A. and M., two young men from the countryside, have been lovers for more than five years, and now they want to marry’”, he read the announcement to Sasuke. “‘They dream of a big romantic wedding, but there is a small problem: Neither of their parents know yet that they are in love with another man. And what would be a romantic wedding without parents?’ You don't want to see that, do you?” 

“I want to sit while I am eating”, Sasuke answered, and so they were now watching the play.

It was quite funny, actually, Naruto thought, a quality they did not share with Jiraya's novels, which were more on the melodramatic side. Both boys told their parents that they were going to marry and that they needed their help and advice for the wedding, and most of all, that they needed them to be present and do their part as groom's parents. Neither of them however could gather the courage to tell his parents that he was going to marry another man. When one couple of parents asked their son to introduce the bride to them his lover dressed up as a woman, padding himself up so that he had very full breasts and very round buttocks, and speaking in a very high-pitched voice. He looked and sounded quite weird, and Naruto wondered how anyone could be deceived by the disguise.

“You would have done better with your sexy no jutsu”, Sasuke whispered to him. 

“What me? Never!” he answered, 

He turned his attention back to the play: The disguise had been bad, still only the sister had seen through it, so she was introduced into the secret and asked to act the bride instead of her brother when the other lover's parents wanted to know whom their son would marry. There was a lot of confusion, embarrassment and misunderstanding resulting from the young men's efforts to hide the truth, and often they had to tell gross stories to patch up rips in their web of lies and illusions.

It was indeed funny in some way, Naruto thought, still he could not see the point of this play: Life was difficult enough as it was, why create even more problems by not telling your parents the truth about whom you were going to marry?

He cast a glance at Sasuke, to see what he thought of the play: He was wearing his usual expression of indifference, only occasionally a smile moved his lips. Still he did not show any intention of leaving, not even when he had finished his meal, and so Naruto turned back to the play. He was in fact getting interested, though he knew that inevitably the outcome would be that the yound men got married with their parents approval and blessings. Still he had got curious how the situation would be resolved. At the moment both families were planning the wedding in the firm conviction that their son was going to marry a woman and that it would be mainly the bride's family's job to organize a place and pay for the food, so that the lovers had a hard time, not only hiding the truth about themselves, but also organizing everything and asking their friends to borrow them money. They whould pay them back when their families understood the situation and were ready to pay for the wedding.

It seemed that one boy's mother and the other's father suspected something, but the other parents were shown to be conservative and full of prejudices against gays, and even on the eve of the wedding they did not know the truth. 

“You should marry in your disguise as a woman”, the boy who had let his sister act the bride told his fiancé.

“And what will my parents say when they are looking for me and only see a gross ugly woman? You may send your sister to stand in for you as my bride if you are afraid of telling the truth.”

“Are you sure you still want to marry me and not my sister?” the first boy asked back, and to show him that this was the case his lover dragged him to the couch for some making out – luckily the curtain fell before anything serious happened. (Again Naruto glanced at Sasuke who kept watching the play intently, without showing any particular emotion.)

On the morning of the wedding when the families met and were vainly looking for a bride, the truth had finally to be revealed. The unknowing father was infuriated, the unknowing mother in tears – rightly, as Naruto thought, for having been deceived for so long – but their respective spouses talked to them so that they finally understood that their sons' happiness was more important than their prejudices, and both mothers happily led their sons down the aisle. 

Naruto clapped and cheered as everyone did – everyone except Sasuke, who was still looking at the stage where one by one the actors appeared to receive the applause. He did not move, and Naruto grew worried: The play had not been that good, had it, the acting rather amateurish (will, they were amateurs, so this was okay), and the end foreseeable. He was glad when Sasuke finally lowered his head. 

“I wish my parents were still alive”, he said silently.

I should have foreseen it, Naruto thought. I should have foreseen that the play would stir up memories of his family. 

“I am sorry”, he said. “I should have insisted on leaving in time.”

Comfortingly he laid an arm around Sasuke's shoulder, half expecting him to vanish as his kagebunshin did when they got hit by an attack, but he did not. 

“It's okay”, Sasuke said. “You still don't understand anything, do you?”

Naruto froze, the arm he had just put around Sasuke's shoulder dropped as he remembered the incident Sasuke was referring to.

“It's okay”, Sasuke said again, punching him softly in the shoulder to break the stupor. “It's not your fault. Let's go to your place – I am tired, and I cannot take any more of this. It's too many people, and too much noise.”

“Yes, sure”, Naruto answered. They got up and silently walked to Naruto's place.

“You know, the mother of that green-haired guy”, Sasuke broke the silence while Naruto was searching for his keys. “The green-haired guy in the play, I mean”, he continued when he saw Naruto's confused look. “My mother would have been just the same. She would have seen through the illusion immediately, and then she'd have put my happiness before everything else, and persuaded my father to do the same.”


	8. Chapter Five: A Premiere

So this was Naruto's place, Sasuke thought. In the attic of the restaurant where he worked, a tiny room with a bath attached to it – no hallway, no kitchen, just a kitchen line with a stove and a sink, which was included into the bed- and living-room. Everything seemed dark here, partly because the lamp over the kitchen sink was not bright enough to illuminate the room, partly because the furniture was some dark brown, the carpet some deep crimson, and the ceiling, which was probably supposed to be white, was now yellow. Most of the furniture seemed old, heavy and cheap, probably it had been bought used, with some stains and cigarette burns, yet there was one really impressive item which was the bed. It seemed heavy and old and used too, but unlike the rest of the furniture it looked as if it had been quite expensive when it had been new. It was also rather big and took up half of the space (in reality only a fourth, but this is how it seemed to Sasuke) making the room appear even tinier. He felt irritated. 

“This is a bed for two people”, he noted. “Who's living with you here?”

“No one”, Naruto answered who had been waiting anxiously for Sasuke's judgement on his place. “I have inherited it from Jiraya, along with the rest of the furniture. He needed it on a regular basis.”

Sasuke could imagine. He remembered well the circumstances of his first encounter with Jiraya, though he tried to avoid this memory as best as he could. 

“Won't you sit down?” Naruto asked. 

There was a chair, hidden under a lot of unwashed clothes, so Sasuke sat down on the bed. 

“You want something to drink?” Naruto went on, and Sasuke decided to accept a cup of tea. Naruto silently prepared it. 

“Now tell me”, he said while he handed Sasuke the cup, “what are you doing here, as you have obviously not come for Gay Pride Day.” 

“Grocery Shopping”, Sasuke answered. 

“Yeah, just as I came to buy a newspaper.”

“Only that with us it is true. We are passing through, and we entered the town in order to refill our supplies.”

It was not entirely incredible, Naruto thought. He poured himself a cup of tea too and looked for a place to sit: the bed was occupied by Sasuke, so he chose the table.

“And once you have done your grocery shopping, what are you going to do then?”

“We are searching for some Blessed Realm in the Far West, where all wounds will be healed, where war is not known, where there is joy and laughter all day, and sorrow is not heard of. Or whatever. Juugo kept telling about it, and the others demanded that we should look for this place.”

“It does not sound like a place that really exists”, Naruto replied. “Rather like some fairy-tale.”

“Don't tell me. But they got wounded while they were fighting for me – how could I deny them to search for a place where they might find healing?” 

“You might tell them that they will have to go beyond the borders of this world to find it.”

“They would not listen. Once they are in their right mind again they will realize by themselves that their search is in vain.”

“Let's just hope that it won't take them too long.”

Sasuke shrugged. “It doesn't matter. As long as their wounds have not healed we can't continue anyway, so searching for that Blessed Realm is as good as anything else.” 

The story did not sound like the Sasuke he knew, but then Sasuke might have changed, and also, there was the team. He wondered about Sasuke's plans for the time when his team had realized that this Blessed Realm did not exist, but he did not ask – he did not suppose that Sasuke would answer such a question. He poured him another cup of tea.

Sasuke had changed his position. He was no longer sitting on the border of the bed but had withdrawn to the far end of it, sitting in it and leaning against the wall. (At least he had taken his shoes off, Naruto observed.)

“It's a premiere, isn't it?” Sasuke said. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I never visited you at your place at Konoha. Is that not what friends are supposed to do?”

He had a talent for hurting him, Naruto thought. He had realized that he cared for Sasuke only when it had already been too late, when Sasuke had received the Cursed Seal, when he had to be protected against Orochimaru and spent more time at the hospital than at home. 

“You might have invited me to your place”, he said. 

Sasuke thought a bit. “Sakura was around then too. She asked me every evening to go out on a date with her, and when I declined you asked her to go on a date with you. How could I have invited you to my place then?”

Stupid girl, Sasuke thought, stupidly playing at being in love, charging up the situation in a ridiculous way and making impossible what under normal circumstances would have been the most innocent thing imaginable: The two boys of the team visiting each other and hanging out with each other.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” he asked. “As you have just admitted that you did not come here to buy a newspaper.”

“I have inherited the rights to the Icha-Icha-series. The series of erotic romances Kakashi was always reading. Jiraya wrote them. I had to introduce myself to the publishers, tell them that Jiraya has died, prove that I am his heir.”

Sasuke did not believe this story. Naruto gave him the impression that he had been living in this town for longer – introducing himself to the publishing-house could not have taken him more than a few days. His guess was that Naruto was on some kind of mission, a long-term mission that required him to take a job and find an excuse to cover up the true reason of his stay in this town. He wondered whether Naruto was really on his own – he did not think him the type for lonely missions of information gathering – Naruto thrived when he was surrounded by friends. Sasuke feared that there might be some secret team hidden somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to attack and capture him and then drag him back to Konoha. Well. They would have to learn that there was no such thing as a good opportunity for attacking him. Though he'd prefer it if he could just stay here for this night without having to fight.

“They could have granted you a bigger apartment”, he said casually in order to continue the conversation.

“Who? Why? What are you talking about?” Naruto asked thinking that Sasuke was referring to the publishing-house. “It's Jiraya's place, I have inherited it. He was always happy with it, and so am I.”

“Still it will be a bit crowded if we all sleep here.”

Naruto looked around and had to admit (though only to himself) that Sasuke was correct. “I did not expect any overnight guests”, he said.

He did not have to invite us, Sasuke thought, though at the moment, tired as he was and in a rather peaceful mood, he was glad to spend the night in a room and not under the open sky. “Thanks for receiving us anyway”, he said. “And we want to apologize for the inconvenience we are causing you.”

“Oh, it's nothing”, Naruto answered. “It's a pleasure, actually.” 

He had to listen to his own words to realize how true they were. How glad he was that he had not spent this day alone (days off could be horrible if you were lonely), and how happy that after so many years Sasuke was with him again, if not as his friend than at least not as his enemy. 

“It's a pleasure”, he repeated, suddenly smiling widely, no longer holding back, no longer wary and full of distrust, but finally openly showing his joy. 

At last Sasuke recognized the boy who had been his childhood companion under the features of the young man who was so careful not to tell him anything substantial about himself, and without being aware of it he smiled in response to Naruto's smile and lowered his eyes. - Naruto jumped off the table and joined him on the bed. He punched his shoulder quite badly.

“I am sorry”, he said. “I just had to make sure it's really you and no genjutsu and not some kagebunshin.”

“I don't do kagebunshin”, Sasuke replied, rubbing his shoulder which really hurt. “That's your jutsu.” And my brother's, he thought, but he never used more than two or three at a time.

“You might try”, Naruto said. “Create a kagebunshin to accompany your team on their search for that place that does not exist, while you are staying here with me.”

Sasuke shook his head. “It won't work”, he said. “Kagebunshin are rather easily destroyed. And then there would be no one to tell them to return.”

“You won't be able to persuade them to leave that perfect place anyway.”

„Tell them to abandon their hopeless search, I mean. We might visit you on our way back, however.” 

So he insisted on leaving the next day, Naruto thought – and still he wants to see me again.

“Yeah, sure, you may visit, as I said it's a pleasure.”

So it was a mission, Sasuke thought. There was no other reason to stay in this town for some more weeks when he had already settled his affairs with the publishing-house. Maybe it was not even about himself, but just some normal information-gathering. Though he wondered which kind of information might be found in a town as this. Still he'd better be on his guard, he thought, but he was not really, he was far too tired, and a bit drunk, and altogether quite glad that his and his team's search for that legendary Blessed Realm, which in itself was an interruption of his quest for revenge, had been interrupted by their stay at Naruto's place. One day and one night he could be at peace, not on the alert, but surrounded by a festival where nobody thought of attacking anyone else, protected by Naruto's friendship. 

He could afford it, he told himself. He needed some information before he could even begin making plans for how to attack these Elders and Danzou, and he might get this information from Naruto. (He still had to read that newspaper, he remembered.)

He got up to put his empty glass into the kitchen sink. 

“Get your blanket!” Naruto told him, making use of the opportunity. “I am tired and want to sleep now.”

He wondered what Sasuke would do, and indeed, after he had got his blanket from the backpack and undressed he crawled back into the bed, as if he was at home there already. He did not even ask Naruto which side of the bed he preferred but chose the one by the wall. Naruto thought this behaviour a bit strange - Sasuke seemed to have noticed his rather irritated looks.

“There's not enough room for all of us on the floor”, he explained. 

He wrapped himself into his blanket and curled up, ready to fall asleep.

“Aren't you a bit selfish?” Naruto asked. “Shouldn't you let the child sleep in the bed, or the girl?” 

“You don't want her in your bed”, Sasuke answered. “She would not leave you alone. That's also why I won't sleep next to her on the floor.”

“Not everyone is as prudish as you are.”

“I am not prudish. I am just not interested in her.”

He did not say it in an aggressive tone but in a sleepy one, and yet this was just as effective in preventing a reply from Naruto: He would simply not have been able to process it and respond to it. Soon he fell asleep.

Naruto, in spite of what he had said, was still wide awake, he had not even undressed. He did it now and got back to his place next to Sasuke, yet he did not lie down to sleep immediately but sat up for a while, regarding his friend. He had not changed his sleeping-position, he thought, he still slept curled up like a very small child, holding the corner of his blanket as if it were some plushie. If anything, he was looking cuter than at the age of twelve, more defenseless, more open. (A grown-up would not have agreed to Naruto, actually, but as Naruto had been twelve himself at the time, he had perceived Sasuke differently, and perhaps more correctly.)

It was a pleasure, he thought, having him here with me, even if he was doing the best to put me off. Why have I been so foolish to hate him when I was a child? He tried to stay awake as long as possible, just being aware of Sasuke's presence, hearing him breathe (no, he did not snore), smelling his scent, sensing the warmth he was radiating, even activating his sennin mode just to be able to sense Sasuke's chakra. Enjoy it while it lasts, he thought, tomorrow he'll have left, searching for this place that does not exist, to do his new team a favor. 

Naruto was not sure whether he should be jealous, or glad that in spite of everything that had happened Sasuke was still a caring person, for whom his team – his new team – had priority before everything else. 

If he had cared for me just like this, Naruto thought, but then he decided not to spoil this moment with bitterness – tomorrow there would be enough time for this. Slowly he fell asleep as well.


	9. Chapter Six: Not a kagebunshin

Sasuke was the first to wake up in the morning. He looked at the floor: His three teammates had been able to find Naruto's apartment and get a key. There was a smell of alcohol in the air. 

He looked to his side: Naruto was still sleeping. He had not changed at all, Sasuke thought, still sleeping on his back, exposing himeslf to anyone who might attack, and he still wore T-shirts with childish prints, be it an animal, the name of a band, or a symbol taken from a popular story or a game. Sasuke did not recognize the symbol on the T-Shirt Naruto was wearing now, but it was clearly ridiculous. Why did Naruto dress like a child when he might have been quite a good-looking man? 

He sat up to be better able to look at him. Naruto, when he was sleeping, looked really idiotic, and he could only hope that with him, Sasuke, it was different. 

Soon they would leave again, he realized. When his team had woken up they would ask Naruto where they could do their grocery shopping, and then say good-bye. They might visit on their way back. He just hoped that his team would understand in time that the place they were looking for did not exist, so that Naruto was still there when they were passing through this town again. 

He felt some regret at the thought of leaving – not much, and remembering that staying meant to betray his family soon let him forget this regret. Enjoy the break while it lasts, use it to form plans and hope that his team would soon regain its sense of reality.

Recall every second of the day and night he had spent with Naruto, get aware of all the details and store them safely in his memory, so that later, when they were searching for that Blessed Realm again, he could dwell on them in the evenings when Karin and Suigetsu were busy with their pointless arguments.

Extend these last moments as much as possible. Look at Naruto while he could do it without being noticed – his messed up hair, his half-open mouth. Reach out to touch him, just his shoulder, very carefully – suddenly his wrist was caught by Naruto. Probably he had not been asleep at all.

“I did not want to hurt you”, Sasuke said.

“You really think I am a complete idiot, do you? Did you believe I would let you stay in my room even in my bed, while I was asleep, if I did not trust you not to try and kill me?” 

Sasuke felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed. 

“You did not try to kill me in Orochimaru's lair either, did you? Or when my kagebunshin found you in the woods?” 

Sasuke was silent, being reminded of what he was most ashamed of.

“No, I didn't”, he answered to Naruto. “I just didn't want to be dragged back to Konoha. I didn't wish you any harm, nor do I now.”

Naruto was waiting for what Sasuke had not mentioned, and Sasuke knew that he was waiting and that he knew that Sasuke knew that he was waiting. He knew that he had to talk; he had often imagined this moment and sought for words, though he would not have believed it if anyone had told him that it would be like this, with him sitting in Naruto's bed and Naruto lying by his side. None of the words he had thought of would do now. 

“In the Valley of the End, however”, he began, speaking the words one by one as if it hurt getting them out of his mouth. “There it was different. There I really wanted to kill you. I was out of my mind then, and foolish. Every moment since then I have been glad that I did not succeed.”

“But you could have killed me, if you had wanted to, couldn't you? You beat me – I was unconscious and helpless and at your mercy.”

Sasuke remembered well – how he had missed Naruto's vital points in his first attack, and how Naruto had been lying on the ground then, very similar to how he was lying on his bed now, and how he had simply not been able to take his life and turn his living breathing friend into a cold corpse. He remembered the wave of tenderness that had overcome him then, just as it overcame him now so that he had to restrain himself from reaching out and touching Naruto's shoulder again. 

“I came back to my senses in time”, he explained, not wanting to go further into detail.

Suddenly Naruto remembered how he had been overcome by the kyuubi during his fight against Pain. He as well had been glad to discover that he was not responsible for any more deaths or destruction. 

“I did not want to be like Itachi who was ready to kill innocent people”, Sasuke continued. He did not mention that it had also been his desire to assert himself as independent of Itachi that had held back his hand then. “I should have remembered in time. I am sorry. Please forgive me.”

“Oh, never mind”, Naruto answered. “It happens to all of us that sometimes we are out of our mind.”

Sasuke felt awkward, not relieved as he had imagined that Naruto's forgiveness would make him feel. Rather a bit rejected – maybe he had deserved it. At least he had now summoned the courage to ask for forgiveness, and no longer had to worry about it. 

Naruto got up. “So at least it was not on a whim that you spared me.”

“No, certainly not, what makes you think so?” Sasuke asked back, rather confused. 

“You told me yourself when we met in Orochimaru's lair.” 

Sasuke dimly remembered that somehow he had had to dispel Naruto's conviction that he actually cared for him and might return to Konoha. He had to be careful now, too.

“I have no idea”, he said. “I must have been talking rubbish.”

“Yes, probably. Let's go and get some rolls while your team is still asleep so that we can have breakfast together.”

Before you leave, he wanted to add, but he did not have the heart for it. “There's a bakery on the other side of the street.”

They got ready - staying at Naruto's place had its advantages, Sasuke thought while he was having a shower – then they got to the bakery. 

“Don't buy your groceries here”; Naruto told Sasuke while he waited in the queue. “They are too expensive here. There's a supermarket that will open around noon.”

Sasuke had not thought of it – he had been staring at the newspapers: there was the Sunday edition of the Morning Messenger, but also the other newspaper with the picture of Konoha on the title page. Sasuke tried to decipher it from where he was standing without being too obvious about it. He cursed Itachi for giving him the Mangekyou Sharingan, and himself for using it – his eyesight was definintely getting worse. 

Naruto took the Morning Messenger from the rack when it was finally his turn. “You don't need to buy that one”, he told Sasuke. “We've got it at home and won't need another copy.”

Sasuke cursed himself and decided not to ask Naruto for that newspaper.

“Anyway”, Naruto continued when he had finally purchased his rolls and croissants so that they could leave the bakery. “Why did you just touch me for if it was not to hurt me?” 

He must not know the truth, Sasuke thought, the truth that there had been no other reason for touching Naruto than that he had wanted to do it.

“I needed to know whether you are real”, he said. “Your true self and not a kagebunshin.” 

“You really seem to think I am an idiot, don't you? I have wanted you back for more than three years now – how could I leave the experience of meeting you to a kagebunshin? And if I were a kagebunshin, be assured that my true self would be on his way to meet you as soon as possible.”

Sasuke looked cute when he was confused, Naruto realized, without any of his usual appearance of coolness and superiority, and he decided to continue: “Maybe you should postpone your departure, to make sure that you meet my original self as well, just in case that I might be a kagebunshin. For my original self is much more awesome than all my kagebunshin in combination.”


	10. Chapter Seven: News of Konoha

When Sasuke and Naruto returned to Naruto's place Karin and Juugo were already up, but Suigetsu was still asleep. They did not wake him up but prepared breakfast, and only when it was ready Juugo went to fetch him. 

Suigetsu flatly refused to get up: “What's the matter? Let me sleep! My head is aching!”

Juugo, rather confused, looked at Sasuke, who, in his turn, was annoyed. He went over to Suigetsu and shook him by the shoulder, causing his teammate to wince in pain. 

“What's wrong?” he asked. “Why can't you get up?”

He could be a bit gentler towards a person who is obviously in pain, Naruto thought. 

“Oh, Sasuke, leave me alone, my head feels like a giant bucket full of wasps.”

“Maybe it is a hangover”, Naruto suggested. He had had a smaller one after his first night of drinking beer in this town – after that he had become more careful.

“What did you do? Drink! You knew we were going to leave this morning as early as possible!”

He was almost shouting now, and Naruto suffered as if it was him who had the hangover.  
“A glass of water usually helps”, he suggested. “Or an aspirin. You may ask for it in downstairs in the restaurant: They should be there by now, cleaning the place before they open.”

“Go and get some!” Sasuke told Karin. Naruto filled a glass of water and gave it to Suigetsu, who drank it eagerly.

“How much did you drink yesterday?” Sasuke went on questioning his teammate. 

“Don't know – don't remember. Just give me some water! I need more water!” 

Sasuke sat down, angry and frustrated. “What now?” he asked. “Naruto, what do you know about hangovers? Are they dangerous?” 

“Normally not. He'll have a headache today, but tomorrow he will be fine again.” 

“Will he be able to get up and walk?”

“Depends on how bad it is.” Naruto hesitated for a second, then he decided for honesty. “Normally he should be able to get up in the afternoon, which would allow you to do your grocery shopping and then come back here and fetch him before you leave. Moving around and getting some fresh air usually helps. Just don't overdo.”

Sasuke wondered where Naruto had gained that knowledge, but he was distracted when Karin returned with some aspirin and with the patron's daughter. They filled a glass of water to dissolve the aspirin in it and passed it to Suigetsu, and then a second glass of clear water when he had emptied it. If he had drunk beer as he was drinking water now it was no wonder he had a bad hangover, Naruto thought. 

“Are you feeling better? Can you get up?” Sasuke asked. 

But Suigetsu, after drinking his second glass of water, had curled up again. “Leave me alone”, he murmured. “You don't know what I am suffering. No one who has never been through this himself can understand me, or has the right to judge me.”

Sasuke didn't look annoyed any more, rather confused and worried. 

“Are you sure it is a simple hangover?” he asked Naruto. 

Naruto shrugged. “I am not a med nin.”

“It's no hangover”, Suigetsu replied. “They must have put something into the beer.”

Karin knelt down at Suigetsu's side. “Take some more water”, she said. 

He drank, and she used the opportunity to check his chakra flow. “It's chaotic”, she said. “And he's badly dehydrated.” 

The patron's daughter filled another glass with water, but Suigetsu could not drink it – he had passed out. 

“Maybe you should get him to a doctor”, she suggested.

“We don't need any”, Sasuke replied. “Karin's a med nin herself. What do you advise?” 

“I can try and stabilize his chakra. But without any equipment I cannot give him the infusions he needs to make up for his loss of liquid.” 

Sasuke sighed and gave in. “Where's the nearest doctor?” he asked the patron's daughter.

“It's Sunday, and they are all closed. But you may take him to the hospital. They have an emergency room there.”

“Is it close?”

“In lilac lane.” 

Sasuke looked questioningly at Naruto.

“Ten minutes”, Naruto answered. 

“Juugo, you take him!”

Naruto watched in astonishment how the little boy threw the grown-up man over his shoulder. I should have guessed that Sasuke would not choose a normal kid for his team, he thought. The patron's daughter was even more impressed, and Naruto knew he had to act quickly.

“You are certainly strong”, he told Juugo. “But you won't be able to carry him the whole way to the hospital. Sasuke and I will do this.”

He turned to the patron's daughter: “Do you have any blankets we can wrap him in, for the way to the hospital?”

“Sure we have”, the young woman answered and went downstairs. Naruto now warned Sasuke: “I don't know which kind of superpower your little friend has, but you should be a bit more careful with showing them to other people. They are not used to ninjas here.”

Sasuke nodded. He was annoyed that Naruto was taking charge, undermining his authority, but his words made sense. So Juugo put Suigetsu down on the floor again, and when the patron's daughter arrived they put the blankets around him – for a second Suigetsu's legs were visible which had become horrifyingly short – then both Sasuke and Naruto put their arms under Suigetsu's shoulders and carried him downstairs. 

The streets were emptier now than the day before, and still Sasuke felt insecure in this strange world where houses crouched against each other for protection, and some lanes were so narrow that they were hardly wide enough for two people. The hospital was situated in an old building, but inside it was all modern, with glass doors and everything in white, and the waiting-room, with dark yellow chairs, was separated from the entrance-hall by glass walls. 

Karin was fastest to talk to the receptionist: “Our companion suffers from alcohol intoxication. His vital systems are instable and in danger of breaking down.”

“How do you do this?” the receptionist asked. “Are you a doctor?” 

“A med nin”, Karin replied as haughtily as the receptionist had voiced her question. 

“Well, just give me your name, then you can get to the waiting-room and wait till it's your turn.”

Karin told her name, explaining that they were tourists who had come to visit the festival. Meanwhile, Suigetsu was getting heavier and heavier in Sasuke's arms: he was awake again, and whining and silently pleading to be put down.

A doctor arrived, looked at Suigetsu for one moment and then ordered him to be taken to Room Nine. When Sasuke and Naruto moved to carry him there, she told them to stop, and ordered some nurses to put him on a light cot on rolls. 

“It's alcohol intoxication”, Karin explained to the doctor. “His chakra system is in chaos, his circulatory system is on the point of breakdown. He needs some infusion.”

“Are you a doctor yourself?” the hospital doctor asked, not in a haughty, but in a friendly and astonished tone.

“A med nin”, Karin answered. “But without proper equipment I cannot do anything.”

The two nurses had begun pushing the cot with Suigetsu to that room number nine, with the rest of the group following, but the doctor made them stop again. “We can handle this without you”, she said. “It's better if you stay in the waiting-room.”

“We won't leave our companion alone”, Sasuke replied. 

“One person”, the doctor offered a compromise, looking at Karin who nodded. 

Sasuke was fuming with anger, as again his authority had been disregarded, but as he could not do anything he tried not to show it. Women, he thought, always ganging up against men. Suigetsu will hate me if he finds out that I left him in the charge of Karin and that stranger. 

He followed Juugo and Naruto to the waiting-room. It was almost noon by now, and with some regret Sasuke remembered that according to their original plan they would already have left behind the town by some kilometers. Now they were stuck in this place for another night – why had Suigetsu not been able to look after himself? (Now that he knew that his companion's life was no longer in danger Sasuke's concern had turned into anger again.)

“I have brought something for you, to distract and entertain you”, Naruto said, and Sasuke wondered what it might be, surprised that Naruto cared enough for him to get him something he thought he'd like. He was even more surprised when Naruto produced the newspaper he had bought the day before from his backpack. For himself, Naruto had brought today's Morning Messenger, with pictures of yesterday's festival, and together with Juugo he set out to look at them and discuss them. 

Sasuke felt oddly touched by Naruto's considerateness, not only giving him the newspaper but also taking it on him to entertain Juugo, as this was obviously how Naruto perceived the situation, not knowing that Juugo was not twelve but eighteen. At the same time Sasuke felt some remorse that he accepted this information Naruto gave to him so willingly and innocently, not knowing that he, Sasuke, would use it for his plans to take revenge on Konoha. 

He shoved this thoughts away and picked up the paper. First he looked at the picture on the title page that showed the Hokage tower: There was something strange and unfamiliar about it, but he attributed it to the fact that he had not seen it for a long time and that his memory was deceiving him. The background, however, with the Hokage's portraits cut into the wall of rock: This was definitely not as it had been. The portraits he had grown up with were gone, and instead they were cutting new ones into the stone. Five heads were covered with scaffolding – Sasuke dimly remembered the woman who had become Hokage after the Sandaime's death - and a sixth one was already finished, picturing an old man, one eye covered by bandages. He read the caption below the photo: “After the destruction of Konoha, the Hokage tower was one of the first buildings to be rebuilt. Also, the portraits of the Hokages are being renewed, allegedly to restore the villagers' faith in their government's ability to protect them.” 

It was the first news of the destruction of Konoha that reached Sasuke, and he was barely able to believe it, as in spite of all his own plans of destroying it, it had always seemed too powerful and strong to him for anything serious happening to it. He turned to the article, half expecting to learn that the word had only been used in a metaphorical meaning.

With a lot of villagers still living in tents, waiting for the reconstruction of their homes, the village walls, the Hokage tower and the head quarters of ANBU have already been replaced. 

“Protecting our compatriots' lives has now to be our first priority”, Danzou, the new Hokage, says. “We cannot afford to remain vulnerable as another attack is bound to happen soon, considering that the aggressor's aim, the capture of the jinchuuriki, has not been achieved.”

Many shinobi who have already retired from active service have been ordered to take up duty at their old posts again, a measure that has even further slowed down the rebuilding of the village, as they are now missed in their civilian jobs. Also, the number of payed missions has been reduced so that more ninjas are available for the village's defense, with the consequence that for the first time in its existence the Hidden Village of the Leaf has now to ask the Daimyou for support instead of contributing to the country's income. 

“Konoha has been a pillar in the military organization of the Fire country for years”, Danzou says. “It is time that we are being paid for our contribution to its defense, instead of having to pay taxes for the income we make through protecting its citizens.”

The Daimyou naturally disagrees with this, blaming Konoha of having brought the disaster on itself by being careless with the information on the kyuubi's continued existence, and by not giving enough attention to Akatsuki, even though since the abduction of the Kazekage it has been well known that they are hunting down the jinchuurikis and extracting the bijuu. 

The whereabouts of the jinchuuriki are still a mystery. Danzou claims that he is now safe, being kept at one of the safest and best guarded places of Konoha, protected not only against any future attempts of capturing him but also against losing control over the kyuubi again. And indeed, no one has seen him for some weeks now, suggesting that he really might have been sent to a safe place. Rumour however says that he has already left the village and that his current abode is unknown to everyone.

Read more:   
Konoha after the destruction (page 3)  
Interview with Danzou in full length (page 4 and 5)   
Comment (page 10)  
Interview with Professor I., expert on international relationships (page 14).

Sasuke put down the paper. He intended to read the other articles as well, but first he had to digest what he had already learnt.


	11. Chapter Eight: Interview with Danzou

Chapter Eight: Interview with Danzou

Slowly Sasuke returned to the present, the waiting-room of the hospital, Juugo and Naruto sitting next to him and looking at the pictures of the parade. Juugo was asking Naruto questions: “Why do they dress up as women? Why do they wear chains?”

Sasuke enjoyed Naruto's embarrassment, as he did his best to answer the questions, but he took care not to open his eyes and show that he was listening, lest he should have to answer some of the questions himself. He wondered what Juugo knew about sex, given that in reality he was eighteen, not twelve; on the other hand Juugo had spent most of his life in Orochimaru's dungeons (not, as Sasuke himself, in Orochimaru's entourage where he had learnt rather too much.) Still he would not put it past Juugo that he was just making fun of Naruto. 

“There's a picture of the two of you!” Juugo exclaimed, and suddenly Sasuke was wide awake: There they were, sitting side by side on a bench in the darkness, watching the play, nothing compromising, still it gave Sasuke the creeps.

“Do they read the paper in Konoha?” he asked. 

Naruto was troubled too, and it took him several seconds before he answered: “I don't think so. Ordinary people read hardly any foreign newspapers there, and I guess that at the Intelligence Service they prefer the more intellectual papers.”

He hoped that he was correct. Better not worry, he could not find out about it, nor could he do anything about it. He liked the picture: Sasuke and himself, peacefully watching the play, nothing showing that they had only recently met after years of separation. He would cut it out and keep it so that once Sasuke had left he would be able to look at it and remind himself that Sasuke had really been there at his place, and that it had not only been a dream.

Karin returned to tell them that things were going well and that they no longer had to worry about Suigetsu. 

“It's been a bad alcohol intoxication, but he's stable now. He will wake up some time in the evening, or at the latest tomorrow morning. I will stay so that he will see a familiar face when he wakes up.”

Sasuke doubted that Suigetsu would be happy to see her. “We can relieve you”, he said. “Juugo?”

He did not want to take the next shift himself as he was burning to read the other articles, and to ask Naruto for some explanations. 

Juugo seemed at a loss. He shifted from side to side in his chair and did not look into Suigetsu's eyes. 

“What's wrong? Sasuke asked, not used to this behaviour. 

“The boys I met yesterday asked me to teach them some more juggling. I told them it was impossible as we were going to leave today, but as we are now staying for another day...”

Sasuke sighed. Juugo was correct, of course, and Sasuke was glad that he had had some fun at the festival. He could not deny him this wish. 

“Go and juggle!” he told him, and then Karin: “We will relieve you in the evening.”

He and Naruto went back to Naruto's place, Naruto glad that Sasuke and his team would stay at least for another night, Sasuke resigned. It did not matter that much, he told himself, searching for that Blessed Realm was as much a waste of time as staying in this town. If only Suigetsu had remembered that he was seeking healing and had not worsened his state of health by getting completly drunk... 

At least there was one advantage, he thought while Naruto was preparing tea: Now he was at leisure to read the newspaper Naruto had bought. He still had to integrate it into his system: that Konoha had been destroyed, that this Danzou, who had probably been the driving force behind the murder of his clan, had become Hokage. The latter was, in a way, welcome news: If the people of Konoha had made the murderer of his clan their leader, he did not need to have a bad conscience if he destroyed the village and killed them all. Only that the village had already been destroyed, and even though his Amaterasu was much more thorough than whatever jutsu had destroyed Konoha, there was little greatness in turning the debris left from the destruction into mere dust. It seemed that most inhabitants were still alive, so he could still dream of hunting them down with his Amaterasu, but the fantasy did not give him much satisfaction. He was not in a particular vengeful mood anyway, not now while he was sitting on Naruto's bed and Naruto was passing him some tea.

“Are there any pictures?” Naruto asked. 

“Yes, even coloured ones”, Sasuke answered. 

Naruto got a box of biscuits from the cupboard and sat down next to Sasuke to have a look at the pictures too. 

“They had not finished the wall when I left”, he said, “and all six portraits were still covered in scaffolding.” 

“Isn't this the most superfluous thing to rebuild when everything is in ruins?”

“They need the symbol”, Naruto replied, repeating what Danzou had said when he had ordered the portraits to be put on top of the priority list. “They need the portraits as a symbol that Konoha is still firmly rooted in the past and that the new Hokage will protect it just as former Hokages have. They need people to trust in their new leadership.”

He wanted to defend Konoha against Sasuke's accusations, but silently he wondered whether quickly rebuilding their homes would not have made people trust in their new leadership too. 

Making Konoha appear strong, Sasuke thought, even if it is all in ruins, so that no other country might make use of the opportunity to attack it. Just what they had told Itachi: Konoha must not look weak. He looked for the area where the Uchiha clan had lived – only small stones and mere splinters of wood were lying around. He wondered what they would do with it now – probably not rebuild it, as no one was ever going to live there again. Would they turn the area into a park, or clear it up and build new houses, for other people? But who would want to live there? 

The guy who had called himself Madara had told Sasuke that the clan had not always lived in that area close to the walls of the village, on a space that was too small for the people living there so that it always had been crowded and poor, compared to the other major clans of the village, but Sasuke had not noticed this, nor had his parents made him feel it – for him it had always been home, and there had been woods and ponds nearby where he had loved to play with his brother or his cousins. Now soon all traces that the Uchiha clan had once been a supporting pillar in the edifice of the military power of Konoha would be gone – he looked for the place where the head quarters of the military police had been; they had not begun to rebuild it, why should they, the building had stood empty since the murder of the clan.

Coldness gripped at his heart, his clan had been wiped out, it had been eradicated as if it never had existed, and he had escaped the destruction only by mistake. If things had gone Danzou's way, he'd be dead as well, denied the right to exist just as the rest of the clan. He felt even colder – he had to remind himself of his plans for revenge – he would not simply disappear – he would set a sign and see that Konoha would disappear with him, showing the world again that the Uchiha clan had once been one of the most powerful ninja clans and that it would not dissolve into nothing as ripples dissolved after a stone had been thrown into water.

“Are you alright?” Naruto asked, gently touching Sasuke's arm and bringing him back into the present. “It's terrible, I know. I was not there when it happened, I arrived just a few minutes too late, and I could not believe my eyes when I saw it. I thought we had taken the wrong way. Luckily, most people had survived.”

“How?” Sasuke asked, glad about the distraction. Naruto's presence felt comforting, but also a bit confusing. He had difficulties thinking clearly when Naruto was sitting so close to him, but he liked it, and he thought that he could afford enjoying it as tomorrow he'd have left anyway.

“Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage sacrificed herself. Via her summon she transmitted her chakra and her cell regeneration jutsu to the villagers and saved them, at the price of using up all her chakra and ageing in no time, so that she now appears as a woman of ninety years.”

He paused, wondering what else might be of interest to Sasuke. “Sakura is fine. She survived the explosion without being injured. Kakashi got severely wounded, not from the explosion but from fighting the invader. He'll survive, but it's uncertain if he'll ever again be able to work as a ninja.”

Who else? “Our former classmates are well. Master Iruka too. Shikamaru has broken a leg, but it has healed by now. He'll probably have to marry Temari from the Sand; he got her pregnant.” 

“Oh, has he?” Sasuke asked, as if this information was more interesting than anything else Naruto had said. Naruto realized that there had been indeed few people Sasuke had cared for. 

“What about you?” Sasuke asked. “Did you get hurt?”

The sudden warmth in Sasuke's voice caught Naruto unaware. “As I told you, I only arrived when the destruction had already occurred. I got a bit hurt in the aftermath, when I fought to drive away the attacker. It's already healed; the kyuubi is looking after my wounds, as you know.”

“Sure, I forgot.”

Sasuke turned the paper to read the interview with Danzou: One last glance at the portrait – it would help to remember what his enemy looked like. Naruto remained at his side, reading with him, pouring him some more tea. 

Interviewer: Danzou Sama, Rokudaime Hokage, Konoha has been struck badly. What will her future be?

Danzou-sama: Konoha might have been struck badly but it won't be her end. Thanks to my predecessor's, Tsunade-hime's efforts, most villagers have survived, and the ninja organizations are still largely intact. Konoha's strength had never consisted in the thickness of her walls but always in the courage and patriotism of her shinobi. 

Interviewer: So how does this go together with putting safety structures on top of the priority list? Why not see that providing the population with essentials, as food and housing, is guaranteed first?

Danzou-sama: Nobody remains hungry, and no one has to sleep under the open sky. But people's most immediate need is not housing, but safety. They need to know that the government is doing everything to prevent another attack as this. We are willing to ensure this.

Interviewer: Other countries might see this focus on defense as a potential threat after the long period of peace and signs of mutual goodwill and understanding under your predecessors. 

Danzou-sama: My predecessors, for all they did in order to further the prosperity of the village, have not been able to foresee and prevent this attack. Their policy of reconciliation and disarmament has been proved wrong: They failed to see that there are forces out there who don't care about peace but only have one aim: Destroy Konoha and what it stands for. Peace talks won't do when we are dealing with them. We have to show them the full extent of our power and make them clear that we won't tolerate their actions.

In a perverted way Sasuke enjoyed reading this interview. So this was the way of thinking of the man who ordered the murder of his clan. It felt good to associate a face and some words with him, it felt good that there was again a person whom he could blame for his clan's sufferings, it felt good that there was again somebody he could hate. He went on reading.

Interviewer: Another question, if this is okay to you: The kyuubi's jinchuuriki who took it upon himself to drive away the aggressor, lately hasn't been seen by anyone. There are rumours that he has left the village.

Danzou-sama: He has not. He is staying in a secret place within the walls of the village. We are not going to tell the public where he is, as the fewer the number of people who know his location, the fewer are able to betray it. He is protected by the most sophisticated traps and genjutsu devices imaginable to conceal and guard the entrance to his hideout. Where he is training and preparing himself so that he can truly fulfill the jinchuuriki's original purpose of being the village's ultimate weapon in a situation of desperate need.

Interviewer: Some people would suggest that this is mainly a measure to keep him under control. 

Danzou-sama: Well, during his fight he was again overcome by the kyuubi. People were scared. Not only for the village's safety but also for his own it is preferable that he stays at a place where the kyuubi can be kept in check. If he fully transforms, and he was very close to it, he will vanish as a person and won't be able to retransform. It is for his own protection. 

For a second Sasuke believed what he had read: That Naruto had been shut away to keep the kyuubi under control. He had to look to his side to assure himself that Naruto was still here, reading the newspaper, and very obviously not hidden away in Konoha. Or maybe here was the place where Naruto was being kept, in this town where no one would expect him? 

“It can't be”, he said, thinking loudly. “He's not well guarded here, or I wouldn't be sitting at his side.”

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asked – he had read the article at a slower pace than Sasuke. 

“Danzou is not protecting you particularly well, is he, letting me get this close to you?” 

“What's the matter? You are not going to hurt me, are you?”

“What about Akatsuki?” The idea had just come to Sasuke's mind – considering that Akatsuki was still chasing after him, Naruto was behaving in a dangerously careless way. 

“Danzou does not have to protect me against Akatsuki – it was me who defeated Pain, their leader, not Danzou.”

Wasn't Madara their leader? Sasuke thought.

“Do they know where you are? What if they come searching after you?” 

“They won't. This town is too far off track of anything. And if they come, I will defend myself, and the town.”

A vivid image of how the town would look like after Naruto had defended it in its narrow streets appeared in Sasuke's mind.

“What if they prefer not to be defended and rather turn you over?” Probably not to Akatsuki, however, who were well known as a gang of criminals, he thought. “What if they realize that the kyuubi's jinchuuriki is living among them, and tell you to return to Konoha to avoid a conflict with that Danzou?” 

It was still a speculation, based on the fact that Naruto was obviously not in that well-hidden place Danzou had been talking of, and that he was not the type who would be happy with such a confinement.

“They won't! Most of them don't even know my full name.”

“What if that Danzou sends it to them, along with an accurate description and some photos?”

“He won't. He doesn't even know I am here.” 

So that was it, Sasuke thought. No long-time mission, if Naruto had not suddenly become an exceptionally good actor, which he doubted. Still Naruto was too careless, he thought, both about Danzo and about Akatsuki.

There was a natual solution for this problem, but Sasuke hesitated to suggest it to Naruto, as it would make his revenge much more complicated.

“Anyway, he wouldn't send for me”, Naruto continued, “even if he knew that I am here. If he did, he'd have to admit that I have never been hidden away in this secret place of his in Konoha.”

Just as with Itachi, Sasuke thought. At all costs avoid giving the impression that you might be more vulnerable than your neighbours think you are.

“Have you finished the article?” he asked. “Can I turn the page to read the comment and that other interview?”


	12. Chapter Nine: Too young

Naruto made some more tea, but when he had refilled their cups, he did not return to his former place at Sasuke's side on his bed but sat down on the table, watching Sasuke read the newspaper. Being scrutinized by Sasuke was bad enough when he was not sitting next to him, and while he liked looking at pictures of Konoha and seeing the progress they made with rebuilding it, or even reading real news, he did not care about interviews or analyses – he had heard Danzou talk, and he did not need anyone to tell him what to think about it. 

Sasuke, however, was reading eagerly, seeming quite absorbed in the paper. He still cares, Naruto thought, he has not become indifferent to what is going on in Konoha, just as I care about it even though I've had to leave the village. Now he was again turning some pages...

“What's a professor?” he asked Naruto.

“Some kind of scholar. There is an academy of them somewhere here in town, where they spend their days reading, writing and talking. Sometimes they also write in newspapers.”

Sasuke had not found this explanation very enlightening, still he turned to the article to read what that professor had to say. It was again in the form of an interview. 

Interviewer: Mr. I., what do we have to make of the new developments in Konoha? 

Professor I.: After the assault, it is only natural that people are traumatized and look for a strong leader who will protect them. Danzou has been an important politician in Konoha for several decades now, only that his support of a more aggressive approach to politics has never been popular, so that he was always left out when it came to appointing a new Hokage. The recent attack however has gained him the support of the people of Konoha, so that he was now chosen as their new Hokage.

Interviewer: You said that he always supported a more aggressive policy than his rivals: How do we have to understand his announcement that he will focus on strengthening Konoha's military?

Professor I.: As I said, it's only natural after an attack as the recent one, and there wouldn't be any problems with it if we could be certain that it was really only about protecting Konoha against another assault of this kind. There are, however, some worrying undertones in his announcements, such as the condemnation of the former Hokage's policies of seeking reconciliation with the other great ninja nations. The hidden villages of Rock or Mist or even Sand may begin to see the new Hokage's display of strength as a threat directed against themselves, and withdraw their ambassadors or cancel trading agreements, driving Konoha into isolation as the tensions between the great nations are growing.

Interviewer: Danzou-Sama claims that his predecessors' idea of achieving peace through negotiations and peace treaties has been proved a mistake by the assault. Konoha should not rely on fragile alliances with other countries, but on its ability to protect itself. 

Professor. I.: It is, in my view, a misrepresentation of the current situation and of the reasons of the assault. Thanks to the previous Hokages' efforts, the relationships between the Fire Country and the other four great ninja nations are all somewhere between neutral and excellent, and none of them is seeking war. We also have to keep in mind that the last Great Ninja War ended only some twenty years ago, and that fear of another war is still prevalent throughout the ninja world, while people are busy overcoming the damage that has been caused by the last war. The economies have just begun to gain some momentum; nobody wants to break it by another war.

Interviewer: So you think that the new Hokage is ill advised to put all stress on strength and safety?

Professor I.: He is doing it the wrong way. Rather than putting off its neighbours by claiming that Konoha is still strong enough to fight off its enemies all by itself he should search for their support. Responsible for the attack on Konoha is, after all, not one of the other ninja nations but the terrorist organization Akatsuki. They have been known for some years now for their kidnapping of the jinchuuriki, the hosts of the tailed beasts: We all remember the kidnapping of the Kazekage, or, lately the Raikage's brother. 

Damn, Sasuke thought. I've let that guy escape, why hasn't he returned to his village? Now they regarded him as a terrorist while in reality he had been betraying that guy who claimed he was Madara. 

Interviewer: So if Konoha's display of strength is not likely to make the ninja villages unite against Akatsuki, what do you think are the new administration's real motives behind it? 

Professor I.: I suppose that being new to his office the Hokage has to demonstrate to his people that he is able to protect them. Akatsuki have been rather evasive so far – those who conducted specific assaults could normally be taken care of, but the identity of those who organize the attacks and develop the ideology behind them is still a mystery - the Hokage is not able to hunt them down, as little as anyone else, so in order to convince his people that he is in control of the situation he engages in symbolic actions, as engraving his portrait into the Hokage mountain, or giving speeches about Konoha's tradition of being able to protect itself. 

Interviewer: But is he not paying a rather high price for this? After all, while he is trying to persuade his people of his capacity to protect them, he is inflicting great damage on Konoha's relationships to its neighbours, which may prove to be more detrimental to its security than any admission of weakness.

Professor I.: Actually I fear that Danzou's focus on strength is not just a tactical move in order to ensure his position as Hokage. I fear that his actions are in accordance to his system of political beliefs which don't stem from the last great ninja war, but from the one before, which was won by Konoha. He grew up in a time when fighting, not cooperation and trade, was the usual state of affairs between the great ninja nations, and this has coined his way of thinking, making him believe that countries are hostile to each other by nature, and that every nation only cares about its own advantage. He does not believe in a system of international rules, but believes that it will always be the strongest who rules over his enemies, and that nothing can protect you but your own strength.

Interviewer: One final question: For the future, what can we expect from Konoha? 

Professor I.: Well, I don't think that Danzou is intending to start another war, which would, by the way, overstretch Konoha's current strength and in all likelihood lead to a bitter defeat. The problem is, however, that with all his talk of strength and independency, tensions between the ninja nations are increasing, so that a minor irritation, which under the previous Hokages would have been dealt with easily in a diplomatic way, may now be seen as a serious threat and lead to a new war, without anyone actually wanting it. We have to hope tha all the Kages will remain calm and rational during these times of crisis. 

Sasuke put down the paper. He had not understood everything the scholar (or whatever his title was) had said, but he had got that he thought Danzou's policies foolish, and, in the worst case, leading to a new war. 

He looked at Naruto who was still sitting on the table, now reading his own paper. 

“Why did you not fight that Danzou?” he asked him. 

“The new Hokage? Why should I fight him? And how? He's ninety!” 

“You still plan to be Hokage, don't you? Why did you not fight for the post?” 

Naruto was in some state of shock. He had caught the wave of aggression radiating from Sasuke, but as it was not directed against himself but against Danzou, he did not recognize it as such and thought that it was the idea of becoming Hokage now that had shocked him.

“I am too young”, he said. “Just sixteen.”

“The Yondaime was made Hokage at the age of nineteen.” 

Sasuke was correct. The Yondaime (my father, Naruto thought, my father) had been chosen as Hokage at an extremely early age, and a lot of people had resented it, and had approved of him only after his sacrificial death against the kyuubi... But after his fight against Pain Naruto had been busy digesting the stories Pain (Nagato! He reminded himself) had told him, and with his concern for Kakashi and Tsunade. He had hoped that she might recover and resume her office, and when it had become clear that this would not be the case, everyone seemed to have already made up their mind that Danzou would be best fitted for the job. Naruto had not agreed, of course, but he had not had any good arguments (the story Nagato had told him did not count), nor any ideas for an alternative candidate. It had not come to his mind that he might claim the post for himself.

“You would have made a better job of it than that Danzou”, Sasuke said. 

It was strange: Sasuke had been among the first to recognize him, Naruto thought, first as a human being, then as a worthy fighter, and now he was the first to recognize that he might be a competent Hokage too, not one day in the future, but now. 

“Anyone would have made a better job of it than Danzou”, answered in a hoarse voice. “I am not ready yet.” 

For a split second Sasuke's Sharingan flashed red. 

“No doubt, you are Naruto”, he said. “I would not have believed it from your words.”

In his mind a fantasy appeared. If Naruto was Hokage, he might offer him his return to Konoha on the condition that those responsible for the murder of his clan got their just punishment: Death for Danzou and the Elders, long-term imprisonment for the ANBU who had spied on his clan, and for those who had participated in the segregation of the clan... actually he had no idea what would be appropriate for them. 

The fantasy had a foul taste, and he let it go, yet the idea that Konoha might become his home again once Naruto had become Hokage and changed it retained some attraction for him.

“What do you know about that Danzou?” he asked.

“Not much”, Naruto answered. “Tsunade told Sakura about him, and Sakura told me. He already competed against the Sandaime for the job of Hokage. He disapproved of the Sandaime's quest for peace, calling him conflict-shy, and he disapproved of Tsunade too, as she is the Sandaime's student and the granddaughter of the first Hokage, and saw herself in the tradition of her predecessors, which he does not. Oh, and he's run a secret division of ANBU, Root. They say it's been disbanded, but on the other hand that boy who was with us when we found you in Orochimaru's hideout, Sai, was a member of this organization, so apparently it still exists. I don't really understand it.”

“That pansy”, Sasuke said. “My replacement. How could you accept him?”

“I did not accept him! He was horrible! He kept provoking and hurting me, without me giving him any reason, and he had no idea of teamwork or companionship.” Naruto paused and thought a bit before he continued. “He's been improving lately, however. Before, he was without any emotions at all. He was an orphan, too, raised by Root; they had made him give up his emotions. But he used to have a friend who was so close to him that he called him his brother. He was dead, and for some time we feared that Sai had been made kill him, to turn him into an emotionless tool, but then it turned out that he had died from an illness.”

As if there was a pattern, Sasuke thought. Making Itachi kill his best friend, almost making me kill Naruto. And almost making me kill Itachi, only that he died from an illness too. Maybe that Sai's brother-friend had died in a similar way.

“I am glad that I did not kill you in the Valley of the End”, he said.

“Yeah, you already said so this morning.”

“That was different. This morning I was glad for your sake. Now I am glad for my sake.”

“I am glad too”, Naruto answered cryptically, and Sasuke thought for a while about his words, and then changed the subject: 

“Anyway, you don't approve of that Danzou, do you?”

“No, surely not.” I would not be here if he had not been appointed Hokage, Naruto thought. I would still be living in Konoha, and I would not have met Sasuke.

“So why did you not fight him? You'd easily have defeated him.”

“Sure, if beating a ninety-year-old man was how one became Hokage.”

“Did you not always think that you'd just have to become the strongest ninja of all in order to be made Hokage?”

“Did you not grow up to find that some of the beliefs you held at the age of twelve were foolish?”

Sasuke thought about it. No, actually not, he concluded. He had been lied to, but he had not been foolish. Naruto had been lied to too, with people telling him that the Hokage was always the strongest shinobi of Konoha, so that he just had to train hard in order to gain the post. 

“You don't become Hokage by beating your rivals”, Naruto continued. “People have to trust you to lead the village wisely, and they have more trust in Danzou than they would have had in me.”

Not me, Sasuke thought. I might have trusted you, but not him. 

“Danzou promised to protect them, and to lead Konoha back to old strength, unlike the previous Hokages who were too soft in his opinion. I'd have been too soft too.”

People support Danzou, Sasuke thought. Maybe he did not need to have a bad conscience about killing him.

“And besides, I did not apply to become Hokage. I am not ready yet. There's still a lot I have to learn.”

“Some other jutsus than just mass shadow clones or that ball of concentrated chakra?”

“It's not about jutsus or fighting. Before I become Hokage I need to find the secret of peace.”

The secret of peace, Sasuke thought. It reminded him of Orochimaru's search for the secret of immortality, or his team's quest for that Blessed Realm. He just hoped for Naruto that he'd realize in time that the secret of peace did not exist, and give up his hopeless search and return to Konoha to become Hokage anyway.


	13. Chapter Ten: Underage

Chapter Ten: Underage

Naruto left as his shift in the restaurant began, and Sasuke decided that it was time to relieve Karin. He took a deep breath – after the intense discussion with Naruto it came as a relief to be outside, to get some fresh air, and to get rid of the emotions that had been roused by the discussion. The sky was still blue, there was a soft breeze going through the narrow street, softening the heat of the day, couples were walking leisurely hand in hand or even arm in arm, which would have been a rare sight in Konoha. No soldiers anywhere, nor anyone carrying weapons – people really seemed more relaxed than in the ninja countries. 

He found the hospital, went to the reception desk – he felt insecure: even though he had left his katana at Naruto's place he could not help feeling that everyone was watching him, recognizing him as a stranger who did not fit in. He envied Naruto for the apparent grace with which he moved in this town, always knowing what to do. For example he would have known how to persuade the lady at the desk to let him see his companion... 

“We will have to ask whether it is okay for you to visit him,” she declared. “You must understand, we cannot just let anyone walk into our patients' rooms just at their liberty – they need to rest, and we have to protect them. What was your name again?” 

Sasuke hesitated and immediately realized that this was a mistake. He had no intention to tell his real name, but if he now gave her a wrong one she would get suspicious. Maybe tell his real name, and let this woman doubt him. 

“You have a name, don't you?” she said. 

“Sasuke”, he mumbled, hoping that he would at least be able to keep his family name secret. 

“And apparently you are too young to know your whole name”, the lady sighed. “I will see what I can do for you.”

She began telephoning around, and Sasuke hoped for the best while he waited for her answer. Idly he looked into the entrance hall, and in the stairhouse he discovered Karin helping someone push a bed through the corridors. She saw him too and waved at him, and he went towards her without waiting for the woman's answer. 

“Moving him out of intensive care”, she explained. “He no longer needs it.”

What a fool, Sasuke thought. Looking for a Blessed Realm, where he can find healing, and still he endangers his life and his health by getting drunk so badly that he needs intensive care. Why again did we save him after our fight against the Hachibi's jinchuuriki?

“They have wondered about his medical condition”, Karin continued. “They have never had a patient who needed that many transfusions, or that much liquid. The parts of his body that have been jelly all the time had shrunken to a third of their normal size, but now he's back to how he was before he got drunk, and looks again as a normal person.”

Sasuke remembered that Suigetsu's legs and arms had looked frighteningly short when they had taken him to the hospital. He left it to Karin to negotiate with the doctor to give him permission to stay at Sasuke's side until he woke up, and she, like Naruto, seemed to have some natural affinity to this place – she easily found the words that made the doctors give in. 

Time to think about his plans for revenge while he was waiting and watching his companion's sleep. Time to contemplate the changes in Konoha's administration, and to decide whether to kill only those responsible for the death of his family, or the whole population. They support that Danzou, he thought, they are just as guilty as he is. But somehow imagining how he would hunt them down with his Amaterasu did not give him the satisfaction it used to give. He wondered if the pain about the murder of his clan had faded, he forced himself to think of the moment he had found them dead, with Itachi standing over them, how they had been lying in their blood, still war, but already lifeless, how he had been scared that Itachi might kill him too, how he had been thrown into loneliness and despair. 

The pain was still there, he felt it physically as if someone was stabbing him in his heart, but he did not sink into darkness, as he normally did. Maybe it was because again there was someone to hate, he decided, that Danzou...

A doctor came to see Suigetsu, checking his vital functions. His breath and his circulatory system were both stable now, and he gave him some more sedatives so that he might sleep through the night. He intimated that they might take him off the IV the next morning, if he had woken up by then.

“It's these parts of his arms and legs that seem as if they were almost fluid which are worrying me”; he went on. “We have never seen anything like it, and we have no idea what to do about it. We would like to keep him here for some more days, so that we can do some further tests.”

Even further postpone their departure, Sasuke thought. “He's a water nin”, he explained. “They have special abilities. For him it's natural.”

Only that for water nins it was also natural that they could retransform into the solid state that was normal for everyone else.

“A water nin”, the doctor repeated thoughtfully. “We have heard of them, but we have never seen one. We would be grateful if he stayed for a bit longer, so that we can study the way his body works. Just to help, so that in case of another emergency as the one we had this morning we know better what to do.”

“It's not necessary”, Sasuke said. “I'll see to it that he does not get drunk again.”

Knowing that Suigetsu had been subjected to various medical experiments at Orochimaru's place he did not think that Suigetsu would approve of any more tests, nor that he would want the secrets of his water body figured out. He hoped that they would release him without any further trouble – Sasuke had already understood that people here even though they did not approve of fighting still had their own methods of gaining control over others. I will fight for him, if necessary, he decided. They will feel the power of my wrath if they are attempting to retain a companion of mine.

“Only if he agrees, of course”, the doctor continued. “Is this really his natural state? Bones and muscles just stopping as if they were cut off, and in their stead some kind pudding that is barely able to keep its form? Can he walk at all?”

“He can”, Sasuke answered. The doctor did not need to know that Suigetsu had to rest after every hundred metres. “We are grateful that you helped us this morning and accepted him to your hospital, but we are just passing through, and we don't want to stay longer than necessary. How much will it cost, anyway?”

“We'll talk about this when he's well again. His health is more important than money. Are you worried that he won't be able to pay?” 

“I know he won't be able to pay. I will pay for him.” 

“You don't have to. The nurses told me that he's just a chance acquaintance of your group, and that you don't even know his family name.”

So that's what Karin told them, Sasuke thought, grateful that she had guarded some sense of secrecy.

“You are not responsible for him”, the doctor tried to comfort him.

“I am”, Sasuke replied. “He has been my companion for several months. I am going to pay for him – do everything he needs to get well again.”

He saw pity in the doctor's eyes – he was not that pathetic, was he? He was caring for his companion, he was offering to pay. 

“Don't worry”, the doctor repeated. “We will find a solution. You won't have to ruin yourself.”

He must have noticed Sasuke's cold looks, forbidding any further questions, and he left. Sasuke's thoughts returned to his plans for revenge, and he made an effort to make them more concrete. Somehow infiltrate the Hokage tower – at least this was an advantage of Danzou having been appointed Hokage, he would know where to find his enemy. Maybe he could allow himself to be taken prisoner, and then be taken to the Hokage tower. But then he'd have to see that they did not put any restrictions on him to prevent him from fighting – maybe Naruto might be helpful with that. He'd probably not even care to bind him, he'd just trust him to follow him, and then take him to the Hokage's tower to present him to Danzou, and then he could kill Danzou before they knew what was happening. 

Maybe these ideas might be turned into a plan, he thought. He'd have to make sure that Naruto got out unharmed, and without any suspicion on him that he might have conspired with Sasuke to kill Danzou – maybe best not tell him about his intentions so that he would not have to pretend to be innocent. But then he'd have to conceive of a plan to persuade Naruto to take him to Danzou. About himself Sasuke was not concerned – dying after he had killed Danzou was part of his plan.

He did now realize how time was passing while his thoughts circled around his plans for revenge. He was opened. Sasuke looked up, expecting a nurse or the doctor again, or Juugo to relieve him, but it was Naruto. 

“What's the matter? What's happened?” Sasuke asked. 

“Nothing”, Naruto answered, taken back by the rather rude reception. “I came to relieve you. I thought you must be tired.”

“You might have sent Juugo.”

“At this time of the night?”

Naruto had sat down on the border of Suigetsu's bed, as if it was only natural that he should take the next shift of watching over him. 

“What's the problem?” Sasuke asked.

“They don't approve here of children being on the street after nightfall”, Naruto explained. “Or of them sitting up through the night, even if it is to watch over a friend of theirs. He will take over tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah. I have already noticed that they are spoiling their kids here. Not letting them do anything real, or trusting them to look after themselves. Remember how we spent a whole night practising to climb trees using only our chakra?”

“Sure I do”, Naruto answered, surprised that Sasuke was being nostalgic again. He paused and smiled, and Sasuke smiled back and then looked down, as if smiling was embarrassing to him.

“They have a different attitude towards children here, and you won't be able to change it. You should be careful for yourself too – if they ask your age, tell them you're eighteen, not sixteen. I do the same. Only when you are eighteen you are considered a grown-up here.”

“We've been considered grown-ups from the day we graduated from the academy.”

It was not entirely true. There had still been Kakashi, looking after them, caring more for him than anyone ever had since his family had been slaughtered. He guessed that for Naruto it had been the same, only that there had also been Iruka. 

Uncalled, Madara's words on Itachi came to his mind. A boy who loathed war and strife, and only desired peace, and a man who worked tirelessly to keep his village safe and stable... Sasuke had been six at the time of the massacre, so Itachi, who had then been thirteen, had seemed a big boy to him, almost grown-up, and certainly out of his reach. Now he was sixteen, and when he thought of how he had been at the age of thirteen it seemed to him that then he had been a mere child, very far from being grown-up.

“They won't change their law for you”, Naruto repeated. “Just tell them you're eighteen.” He looked at Sasuke's face: Still fine-featured as a girl's, even worse than at the age of twelve, yet as it was rather feminine than childish, and as his body was certainly that of a grown-up man, it would work. 

“They'll believe you”, he said.

I won't stay for long anyway, Sasuke thought. It won't matter if I lie about my true age for two days.

“Are you sure you want to keep guard?” he asked again. “He is my companion, not yours. You are not responsible for him.”

“He's my guest”, Naruto replied. “You go and get some sleep.” 

Sasuke understood that it was futile to resist any longer. 

“Here are the keys”, Naruto continued and passed them over, his fingers touching Sasuke's for a short moment.

“You'll find the way, won't you?”

“Certainly.”

He got lost even before he had left the hospital – a nurse addressed him when he was erring through the empty corridors, and helpfully showed him the way out. He forced himself to get focussed, so that he would not lose the way again. How could such an accidental touch confuse all his thoughts?

He found Naruto's place but just when he had arrived at the door he decided to take a short walk. He definitely needed some time to get a clear mind again.


	14. Chapter Eleven: Heroes' Park

When the sun had risen over the horizon Sasuke woke up Juugo and sent him to relieve Naruto. He insisted that Naruto got some hours of sleep, even though he claimed that he did not need it, and that he would be even more tired when he got up after too little sleep. 

Sasuke decided to prepare breakfast while Naruto slept, to show their gratitude for his hospitality during the weekend, and together with Karin he went to the bakery where he and Naruto had bought some rolls the day before. 

Again he wondered when he looked at the men in blue having some coffee and a sandwich in the bakery, and at others in business attire hastily drinking an espresso while reading their newspapers. No soldiers, nowhere. The blue overalls might be some kind of uniform, he was musing, but the men were carrying tools in their pockets, not weapons. 

He looked at the newspapers too, and took one of them out of the rack, to see whether there were any news of Konoha, and when there were none on the frontpage he looked inside. 

“Are you going to buy it or not?” some other customer snarked at him. “You know, people don't like newspapers that have been ruffled through.” 

Ashamed of his fauxpas Sasuke muttered that he would buy the paper, and lined up in the queue. He wanted to buy something special for Naruto, and ended up without any rolls at all, but with a lot of croissants with different fillings. When he gave the shop assistant a rather large banknote she checked it against the light. 

“I cannot accept that”, she said. “You've painted it yourself.”

“No surely not”, he replied, shocked with the unexpected accusation. “No one can paint that finely!”

“But it is a really beautiful painting”, she continued as if she had not heard him. “Much more beautiful than the ones we get from the Daimyou's mint in Wind Country.”

They had the same currency here as everywhere else, didn't they? Hadn't they accepted his money without any problems on the day of the festival?

“I think I will accept it all the same”, she said, stored the note away in her cashier and gave him his change. He felt a bit dumb, wondering what mistake he had made this time. 

“Now this one is not beautiful at all”, he heard the shop assistant tell the next customer. “It's just as ugly as the official ones.” 

“I have to apologize”, the customer replied. “I did not have much time yesterday. Next time I will try harder.” 

“Well, for the moment I will accept it”, the shop assistant gave in. Sasuke wondered whether they really painted their money themselves, but then it dawned on him that it was a joke. All the same he was not one hundred percent sure.

He liked the place, actually, where people had leisure to jest in the early morning, but he did not fit in, and he was glad that they would leave today. 

Naruto was still sleeping when they arrived, lying on his back, as always, his chest heaving and sinking in rhythm with his snores. He sounded cute, Sasuke thought. He was tempted to touch his shoulder to wake him up, but he refrained from it. He didn't have another excuse in store, not even a lame one.

They made coffee and set the table, or rather the floor, as Naruto did not own a dining table, and he woke up by the smell of coffee, and by the noise caused by Karin doing the dishes.

He was pleasantly surprised when he saw that breakfast was ready. It was something he had never had, neither back in Konoha nor here in this town: Breakfast with people he cared for, at his own place, and they had even prepared it for him. He wondered about the food Sasuke had bought, as it did not seem like him at all. He, Naruto, had always considered croissants as too little substantial, but he saw the gesture and appreciated it, and beyond this, he was just happy that Sasuke was here, with him, trying to be friendly. 

Sasuke saw the joy in Naruto's face, so open and vulnerable that he could hardly bear it, and he lowered his eyes.

“The doctors said that they will release Suigetsu some time in the early afternoon”, Naruto said. “They want to make sure he's really fine.”

“We'll have to leave then”; Sasuke answered. “We don't want to intrude any longer on your hospitality.” 

“Well, I cannot help you if you still insist on searching for a place that does not exist.” 

Sasuke waited for Karin's reaction, but there wasn't any.

“I have an appointment with the publishers of the Icha-Icha-series”, Naruto continued. “They want to release an authorized biography of Jiraya, and apparently I am the one who has to authorize it.”

(Actually he had no idea what the word meant, he just hoped that he would not have to write the biography himself.)

“You may join me, and on our way I will show you the town.”

Karin agreed, and Sasuke pretended that it was okay to him, as they had nothing else to do, but he was curious too, and so they departed early in order to have enough time to look around. 

Naruto enjoyed being the one who knew more about this town, so that he could explain things to Sasuke, even though he had been living here only for six weeks. 

“That's the main temple”, he told his guests. “I am not sure which deity it's been originally built for, as it is very old, but now it is the temple of Kannon, goddess of mercy and peace. Though most people here are not particularly religious, it's rather for the tourists who come to visit and have a look at the artwork, which is quite famous.”

The temple was really beautiful, painted in bright coulours, with gracious roofs and a lot of decorations on the walls. 

“We can have a look inside too”, Naruto suggested.

Sasuke had never been to a temple, as the ninja of Konoha were not religious either, the only exception had been the main temple of the Nakano shrine, which held the secret meeting-place of the Uchiha clan in its basement. He had not taken any interest in the temple itself on that occasion, still struggling with the immediate aftermath of his family's murder, so now this was his first real visit to a temple. He looked at the bigger than life statue of a friendly, smiling woman with a lot of candles around her, while some pious people were praying or lighting more candles, and at the groups of tourists listening to their guides and taking photos. Sasuke was not religious, but he felt pity for the goddess of stone who had just become a piece of art. 

His eyes caught a bronze tablet explaining the temple's history. Apparently over the centuries the temple had been dedicated to a large variety of gods, and only after the last war, when the pain had still been fresh, people had consecrated it to Kannon. Only that now they cared as little about her as about all the deities who were honoured here before her.

The building next to the temple turned out more interesting. There was nothing fancy about its architecture; basically it was a large box of bricks, with a smaller box on top of it, and the entrance was the only art of the building that was in any way decorated, though just with some pillars and a pair of phoenixes. All around the building, however, was now a red and yellow marquise, and below it were some tables, with leaflets displayed on them. People sat behind them, talking to curious visitors. The windows on the ground floor were decorated with posters, but also with paper stars and fish. 

“It used to house the administration of the local ninja organization”, Naruto explained. “It's not called their kage tower, as it was too small to be headed by a true kage. Now it is simply the town hall.”

Sasuke would not have guessed it, and Karin was surprised too. 

“Do they make these” - she pointed to a mobile that was hanging in a window - “during their town council meetings?”

“The Office for Youth Affairs is on the ground floor. They organize some children's activities here too.” 

So this is what their children do, Sasuke thought.

“What's the tables around the hall about?” 

“Some are campaigners for the upcoming elections. Some are advertising the holiday programme the town is offering for kids, and then there's an initiative for renaturalizing the river that goes through thee town.”

“Where is there a river?” 

“They put it underground when they had to rebuild the town after the last war. Not all of the town is old, only the innermost centre with the market place, and a lot of it has been reconstructed or rebuilt after old photos. They needed space then, and thus the river was put under the earth. Now they think of deterring it again.” 

“Do people here ever work?” Sasuke asked. He thought both the idea of putting a river underground and then deterring it again equally crazy.

“Course they do. Campaigning and offering activities for young people is part of their job.”

He led them on, to the park that began on the back side of the town hall. “It's not the shortest way, but the nicest”, he explained. 

It was more or less an ordinary park, mainly consisting of lawn, but also of geometrical flower beds, and some hedges, and some beautiful, very old trees. Unusual about it, however, was the amount of art: Everywhere there were statues, some of bronze, some of marble, showing men and women (far more men then women) on pedestals, all in very dignified positions. When they continued however, the style of the statues changed: Some were more naturalistic, showing ordinary people in ordinary everyday activities, some were rather experimental, with distorted proportions: some unrealistically long and thin, some rather plump. A few of them looked as if they were in agony. When they got further into the park, however, these statues gave way to pieces of art that did not represent any people at all, but were just fancy constructions of metal. One of them looked quite pretty in Sasuke's opinion, a large wheel of iron with some coloured ribbons and bells hanging from it. 

“It's a memorial for the children that were killed by an explosive jutsu that accidentally hit the ninja academy during the last war”, Naruto explained. “The ribbons stand for their young souls.”

Sasuke still liked the thing, but he had grown serious with these words. 

“It's Heroes' park”, Naruto went on explaining. “They are commemorating their deads here.”

Sasuke remembered Naruto's words on the day of the festival, about the lawns of Heroes' Park being full of couples making out on fine summer days. There weren't any of them now, only some elderly couples on the benches holding hands, sometimes the man had put his arm around the woman's shoulders. On some of the benches there were two men (or two women, but Sasuke did not care about those) and he tried to determine whether they were lovers or just friends, but he did not manage. With a pair of statues he was luckier however, it portrayed a gay couple in close embrace, passionately kissing each other.

Karin stared at it too. “What's this about?” she asked. “I thought they were honouring their heroes here, not some guys making out.” ”

Sasuke heard the disgust in her voice, a disgust probably directed at the fact that it were two guys and not a straight couple, and he was annoyed.

“They put it up in honour of one of their most important gay rights activists”, Naruto told his companions. “I am not sure whether it actually shows him and his partner, or just some nameless couple, in order to represent his cause.”

“So he was a warrior, fighting for his town and dying for his town, and being honoured for it, in spite of being gay”, Sasuke concluded. He really liked the place. He almost regretted that they would leave today.

“No, he got honoured for being a gay rights activist. He only fought with words, giving speeches on the market place or writing letters to the editors of the local papers. Also by refusing to hide in clubs and marrying a woman to appear straight. He insisted on his right to walk hand in hand with his partner, or kissing him in public.”

“What's courageous about kissing your partner in public?” Sasuke asked. 

“Would you do it in Konoha?” 

Gay men didn't exist in Konoha, except in dirty jokes and as rumours about ninjas who appeared weak or effeminate or who wore strange clothing. Openly admitting that one was gay, even showing any tenderness in public, was absolutely out of question and would cause a great upstir. It might be an idea, Sasuke thought, kissing Naruto in front of the Hokage tower, and when people rushed at them to separate them, blow them all up in one giant explosive jutsu. It would not even be his fault, he'd just do it to protect Naruto. 

For some time he lingered on the fantasy, then he discarded it: It would be a very effective way to kill a lot of people, but leave the Hokage himself unharmed.

“But if it took courage to kiss his partner in public, why do people here honour him for it?” If he blew up a lot of people who'd want to hinder him kissing Naruto, he would certainly not be honoured for it. “And also, don't they think it an insult to all the others here who died fighting for their village that someone is honoured for kissing his partner in public?” 

“It's more complicated”, Naruto said. “He actually got killed, not while kissing but during a demonstration. Someone who really hated gays sneaked up behind him and stabbed him. The result was that everyone, including those who had been indifferent or even slightly anti-gay before, started to support gay rights. Then they put up the monument.” 

“Why? He didn't even fight to defend himself.”

“He's still a hero, isn't he, fighting for his cause. - Do you remember that monument back in Konoha for all those who died defending the village? Kakashi showed it to us the day we became genin.”

Where had Naruto got the idea that he might forget an occasion as this? When he had just summoned his courage to overcome his reserve and offer his food to Naruto. Though his memories of what had happened afterwards were certainly a bit confused, he only remembered Naruto bragging that one day his name would be engraved into the stone too, and that then Kakashi had delivered a long sermon. He did not remember any of Kakashi's words, he had been far too excited by the fact that he had offered his food to Naruto and that Naruto had accepted it (and also he had been busy not showing his excitement, but this he didn't remember.) 

If he finally came to the conclusion not to destroy Konoha as a whole, but only kill Danzou and the Elders, he would make certain that Itachi's name found its place on the monument too. He was not sure about his parents and the rest of the clan – maybe it was more appropriate if they got a monument all for themselves. Something beautiful, he thought, with ribbons that blew in the wind just as they had attempted to blow away every memory of the clan. But there also had to be something to honour what they had done for the village.

“He died for his friends”, Naruto went on. “The other gay and lesbian people in the town. He died, but after his death, their situation improved. That's what they honour him for.” 

Maybe if he died killing Danzou and clearing the way for Naruto to become Hokage, and thus making the world a better place for everyone, they might honour him with a monument too, even though they would not approve of him in the first shock. Maybe Naruto could see to it. He'd also somehow have to inform him about his wishes for a monument for his family, and how to honour Itachi, so that Naruto could take care of it when he, Sasuke, was dead.


	15. Chapter Twelve: Former Hidden Village of Music

They went on, leaving the park and getting to the more modern parts of town, where the roads were wider and the houses were not built wall by wall in order to save space. Here they each had their own piece of ground, mostly just some lawn for the sake of keeping gardening costs low, and the houses themselves were large boxes of metal, without any windows. The only decoration consisted of huge labels, painted in bright colours not on the front but on the side walls. At the front of the buildings there were smaller boxes of concrete, yet with a lot of windows, containing the entrance to the big box of metal and some offices, and on top of these concrete boxes there were again the same labels, in illuminated letters of somewhat smaller size than the label on the side wall. 

“Here's the home of the music industry”, Naruto explained. “It's what the town is famous for, and what it lives on.”

“Music?” Karin asked. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, sure. There are bands everywhere, and while some are only known within the town, others manage to get famous throughout the ninja world, or even in those other countries beyond the mountains, beyond the desert, beyond the sea, where they have never heard of ninjas and even speak a different language. Those who don't make it still remain active and play on minor occasions as festivals, or at weddings or in restaurants, and while they don't earn enough money to live on, it is still a nice addition to their budget. But those who come out great and sell thousands or millions of records, and get played on the radio or on TV, those are the most important source of income to the town, and every child dreams of becoming a famous musician, just as in Konoha every child dreams of becoming a great ninja.” 

“I've never heard of it”, Sasuke said.

“Oh, that's because you don't care about music.”

Sasuke felt strangely insulted by Naruto's assumption, even though it was correct.

“Is there any country the town belongs to?” he asked.

“Not any more. The country was destroyed during the last war, well, for Konoha it was the war before the last one, but for this town it was the last one. After the war, the victorious countries divided it among themselves, and a part of it actually belonged to Fire Country, but when the strain of maintaining an occupying army far away from its borders grew to big they sold it for a large amount of money to Wind country.” 

“Sounds really stupid”, Sasuke said. “I am not sure whether I should believe it.”

Naruto shrugged. “That's what people told me.”

“So which of the Great Countries got this town then?” 

“None. I told you: It does not belong to any country. It used to be its country's hidden village, and none of the victors would have allowed its rivals to obtain the power represented by the ninja village and the secret techniques of its clans. So as they could not come to an agreement, in the end they decided that they would disarm the village, dismantle the ninja forces and dissolve the academy. The important clans had to leave, and their members were divided among the victors, but those who were ready to give up their trade were allowed to stay. A lot of them did: It used to be the Hidden Village of Music, and many shinobi were glad that they would no longer need to abuse their art for fighting, and would be able to focus on what was most important to them: Music.”

“I still don't see how it works. A rather small town, without any armed forces. Why hasn't it fallen prey to one of the bigger countries?”

“I haven't understood it either”, Naruto answered while they turned around a corner that led to another quarter of town: There the houses were again real houses, meant for living, not just huge metal containers, they were rather old but not as old as those at the center of town, and they were decorated with a lot of pillars and turrets and statues of naked men and women. All were surrounded by beautiful gardens with rose bushes and old chestnut trees.

“I have been told that there is a complicated system of contracts protecting the town. Any country trying to attack it would face retribution from the other ninja nations, causing a new great ninja war, and no one wants this.”

Everything to prevent a new war, Sasuke thought. Though there were certainly worse things you could do to preserve peace than sparing a small town with no power at all.

“Yet this does not make sense”, Naruto concluded. “Because during the last war, no one cared to conquer the town, even though there was no longer any peace to be preserved.”

“Maybe it's just not important”, Sasuke answered. “Who'd want it without its ninjas?” 

“It's a nice town anyway, even without any military forces, and one of the most wealthy of the ninja world with its monopoly on music. As I said, I don't understand it.”

They had arrived at their destination: An old villa that was now the home of the publishing-house of the Icha-Icha series, hidden behind ivy and rhododendron, like some fairy-tale castle, and nothing on the outside indicated that it was the home of the most important series of erotic romances of the ninja world – if anything there were less people decorating the entrance than those of the other houses.

Obviously Naruto had been here before, he greeted the receptionist by her name and headed straight for the floor, while Sasuke and Karin were lingering behind – the decoration was just too distracting. Pictures of men and women in various states of dressing or undressing, sometimes just kissing, sometimes in close embrace, sometimes entwined as if they were having sex, but one could not tell for certain as the pictures did not expose their sexual organs. Karin did not even try to hide her fascination while Sasuke felt rather irritated and a bit disgusted by all the entangled limbs and swelling human flesh that populated the photos, or the cactuses trimmed to grow in the form of phalluses, or the lamps that resembled limp penises when they were switched off and erect penises when they were switched on. A black-and-white photography caught his attention, of a man masturbating, taken from the side, showing only his hands and the parts of his body between his chest and the upper parts of his thighs. It was a fine composition, Sasuke thought, the white body of the man against the black background, framing the central parts with the penis and the hands, which were also the most finely structured parts of the photo, showing even the hairs on the man's hands, and the opening on the tip of the penis. 

“Come on”, Naruto urged him. “You are still underage.”

“I am eighteen”, Sasuke replied. “Yesterday you told me so yourself.” When had Naruto become prudish?

In the chief editor's office, Naruto introduced Sasuke and Karin as friends from home. 

“You trust them?” the editor asked him, and Naruto answered that he did, making Sasuke wonder how he had earned that trust. Truth was however that Naruto trusted him because he was not from Konoha. 

They were served tea and made some smalltalk, discussing the festival on Saturday, then the editor disclosed why he had asked Naruto for an appointment: 

“You know that Jiraiya-sama was very popular, and had called a community of devoted fans into being, who eagerly awaited the release of every new volume.”

Naruto looked at Sasuke, and both knew that they were thinking of the same person. 

“With his decease however he won't be able to continue his series now, and we are thinking what to do about it. We are already planning a special edition of his most popular novels in his memory, with illustrations and a cover designed by a real artist. It will keep us in the profit zone for this year, but the next year we will need something new.”

“Not a new volume?” Naruto asked. “You don't expect me to continue the series, do you, just because I inherited the rights to the existing volumes?”

He has really become prudish, Sasuke thought at the sight of Naruto's abhorrence.

“Don't worry, we won't, unless you insist on it. Writing is a talent in itself, and authors usually develop a very personal style. You certainly wouldn't be able to replace Jiraiya. Actually we are thinking of engaging a team of experienced authors for the series, who will imitate Jiraiya's style as well as possible.”

“I am not sure whether I like this”, Naruto replied. “For me, the series will always remind me of my beloved teacher, and I don't want to have to associate it with a bunch of people who didn't even know him.”

“Oh, you don't have to decide this now, of course. It's just an idea for the far future. What we actually think of for the next year, and what we would like you to help us with, is an authorized biography of Jiraiya. We'd need you to authorize it, and we need you to support our author by telling her about the time you spent with Jiraiya, and sharing your memories of him with his fans, who all long to know more about their favorite author.”

Naruto hesitated with an answer, and the man went on talking: 

“You'd just have to grant her an interview, or two maybe, you talk and she tapes what you're saying and forms it into a story, and then you read it and give your okay.”

“And what if it's not okay?” 

“Oh, this won't happen. She's experienced. But you can of course say which parts you want to have changed, and then she'll rewrite them.” 

“And if I don't like her style at all?” 

“As I said, you will. She's very good. Anyway, we have prepared a contract: if you want to read it – you may also change it, if there are passages you don't approve of.”

He passed it to Naruto.

“Read carefully”, Karin warned him. “Suddenly you will have to allow them to publish material you rather want to keep private.” 

Together with him she began reading it – why did she suddenly take such an interest? Sasuke thought. It was not her concern, was it, and her head almost bumped into Naruto's. I'll have to warn him, he does not take her seriously.

He himself was not particularly interested. It was Naruto's life, not his, and a biography of Jiraiya did not hold much interest for him. He should make use of the time, continuing planning his revenge. Kill that Danzou and then see that Naruto gets installed as Hokage. But even then there were still those who had agreed to the segregation, those who had spied on the clan, those who had done nothing when the clan had been murdered. Again he felt that he was being overcome by his pain and his hatred, that everything was going black. It would not do now, not when Naruto was negotiating with the editor of the Icha-Icha-series, and he forced himself to return to the present, to the office with the huge wooden desk, to the red plush sofas and the bronze candle holders. They were – Sasuke noticed it only now – even more obscene than the lamps outside: formed like vaginas, in delicate craftswork that showed the labia in all detail, and the candles were again in the form of phalluses. Sasuke shuddered at the idea of them being burnt down, and also, he thought when he was rational again, they were upside down, with the tip showing upward.

He turned his attention to the pictures on the wall, which, for a change, did not show any genitals but fully clothed people. He made a game of guessing who they might be: Some were obviously former chief editors, sitting behind the wooden desk he, Sasuke, was now looking at. Some were authors, also sitting at their desks, but not throwning and not looking at the photographer who was taking the picture from the other side of the desk, but at the text they were working on. Other pictures were taken outside, showing the author in an adventurous or romantic setting, however he wanted to present himself. He discovered a picture of Jiraiya when he had been young, with some women in his arms (definitely more than two, but he had difficulties seeing clearly how many they were), and some more women at his feet, and then there was another picture of Jiraiya, with a dark-haired person at his side, their arms around each other's shoulders. Sasuke was irritated – was that Orochimaru? He blinked, trying to see him better, but he was not able to clearly identify him, no matter how hard he tried.

“You know, you might need glasses”, the publisher told him.

“What?” Sasuke replied, taken in surprise.

“I think you might need glasses. I have been watching you for some time now, making an effort to clearly see the pictures.”

“I don't think so. The pictures are just too small, and too far away.” Silently however he cursed Itachi and the Mangekyou Sharingan he had given to him.

“Yeah, that's what my son would say too. He was about your age then, I think... Always: It's too small and too far away, until I dragged him to some ophthalmologist to get his eyes checked.” 

“I don't think glasses will help”, Sasuke said, now even more on the defensive.

“My son protested too and denied that anything might be wrong, but now he's got used to his glasses and really appreciates to see clearly.”

Karin and Naruto had stopped reading the contract and were looking at him.

“You know, I've been thinking for quite a while now that something might be wrong with your eyes”, Karin said.

Sasuke wished that some hole in the ground would open to devour her. “I already told you, glasses won't work.”

“You still might get them checked. I can give you the address of my son's doctor, it's not far away.”


	16. Chapter Thirteen: Engaged to Marry

So here he was again, Naruto thought, waiting in a doctor's waiting-room, not for his own sake, but again for Sasuke. Their journeys and fights must have worn them out even though, on the other hand, alcohol intoxication and myopia were not among the usual consequences of fighting or travelling. 

Sasuke's resistance when they had left the chief editor's office had not lasted for long. His arguments had been that first, it was nothing, and second, the doctor would not be able to do anything about it anyway, and they had easily been dismantled by Karin, who insisted that she had noticed on several occasions that Sasuke was having trouble with his eyes, and that it could not hurt to get them checked, and that the doctor would be able to tell whether anything was wrong and whether he was able to do anything about it.

Naruto pitied him. He knew how much it would hurt Sasuke's pride to admit that something was wrong with his eyes – the foundation of his extraordinary power as a ninja, the foundation of his identity as a member of the famous Uchiha clan. Sasuke's tension and despair, even though he did not say anything, were almost solid in the air, ready to be grasped if Naruto just reached out for them, yet what he really longed to do was to reach out to Sasuke himself and comfort him, showing him that he was with him. He resisted the urge, knowing how Sasuke hated it to be pitied. 

Sasuke was indeed desperate. It was Karin's fault, he thought: Why could she not mind her own affairs? Why did she have to watch every single one of his moves? And then it was Itachi's fault again, for giving him that accursed Mangekyou Sharingan (and partly of course his own fault, for using it against the Hachibi's jinchuuriki, but this he had to do, hadn't he, in order to protect his teammates.)

He was in panic about what the doctor might do to him. He absolutely wanted to keep secret the Mangekyou Sharingan – he would even have preferred it if his own team had not learnt about it either. (But then again, he had to use it to protect them.) He did not want Naruto to know about it, lest he should have to tell him how he had gained it, and also tell him the true reason for his attempt to kill him in the Valley of the End. And definitely he did not want that doctor to meddle with his eyes, or worse, with his brain (he suspected that the dojutsus of his clan were rather a function of the mind than of the eyes themselves) and find out about the Mangeyou Sharingan – in fact he did not even want him to find out about the normal Sharingan. He feared what the doctor might do if he found out about the Mangekyou: Give him medicamentation that would suppress the Sharingan, do some surgery to cut the nerves which linked his eyes to the experiences that had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, or that the doctor would have to tell him that his eyes were beyond healing and repair so that he needed a transplantation. 

Why hadn't they just left him alone? Why could they not allow him to turn blind slowly as he was preparing his revenge (without further using the Mangekyou Sharingan) and then spend what remained of his vision along with his life in his final battle against that Danzou, and all those who were responsible for the murder of his clan?

His thoughts went in circles, circles of fear and despair, until he heard the word “Konoha” in a conversation among the people who were sitting around him: Not Karin or Naruto, but two elderly women, obviously locals. 

“He will have to leave Konoha and break off all contact”, one of them said. “They are really asking a lot of him.”

Who were they talking about? Sasuke felt that Naruto had got tense as well.

“He does not have any choice, and also, he loves her, doesn't he? He cannot let her down, not when she is expecting his child.” 

“But having to leave his family forever? They'll want to see their grandchild, won't they? Even his letters will be censored, and his parents won't be allowed to write at all.”

“Well, such is politics. They cannot afford any information to leak out. He has worked for the intelligence department, I've heard, training to become a cryptographer, but now he will have to quit service as a ninja altogether.”

Naruto was really nervous now, moving from one side of his chair to the other. The women were looking at one of the magazines that were lying on the little table in the middle of the waiting-room; one of them was just turning the page.

“She's pretty”, she said, “but the obi looks ridiculous. As if she were trying to hide her pregnancy, but in reality she's drawing attention to her belly. I just hope that for her wedding she will choose a more favourable dress.”

“Maybe she'll wait until the child is born. I guess she'll look stunning when she is no longer pregnant.”

Sasuke wondered. According to Konoha's standards, which he had never questioned in this point, marrying when you were obviously pregnant was bad enough (even marrying when you were not obviously pregnant was bad if the child was born too early.) Marrying with a child on your arms was unthinkable. But he had already understood that sexual mores were more lax here. 

He had a vague idea now who they might be talking about, as he had remembered what Naruto had told him the day before. He tried to decipher the words on the magazine's title but he was not able to. Curse Itachi and the Mangekyou Sharingan! 

“Can you read the title?” he asked Naruto. 

“Yeah. It's: Finally engaged! Hokage gives permission for marriage between Sand and Leaf.” 

Karin turned her eyes to the table with the magazines: “In this one they have an article about them too.” 

Naruto picked it up. He wondered why he had not seen it before: Temari and Shikamaru had not made the title story, but still on the cover there was a small picture of the two of them, Temari smiling happily, Shikamaru rather serious. He found the article, which consisted mainly of photos: One taken by some paparazzo, showing Temari in profile so that her belly was clearly visible, another showed her with Shikamaru, embracing each other in the garden of the Kazekage's tower, kissing under the trees, and then there was the official photo of the engagement party, with everyone holding glasses of champagne, and wearing their best clothes. Shikamaru looked good in formal attire, Sasuke thought, but he did not seem as happy as he should have, considering that he had just got engaged to the woman he loved. Standing next to the couple were Gaara and Kankouro and Shikamaru's parents, both looking really unhappy, and the heads of the important clans and the high-ranking shinobi both from the Leaf and the Sand, including some ANBU with masks, and then two old people, a man and a woman. There was also a smaller photo only of the two of them.

“Koharu-san and Homura-san, councillors of Konoha and emissaries of the Hokage, have negotiated the contract that finally permits the marriage between Nara Shikamaru and Sabakuno Temari, sister of the Kazekage and princess of the Sand” the caption said. 

Now he knew them too, Sasuke thought, impressing their images into his memory. Forcing an impossible choice on Shikamaru, just as they had done with Itachi. The world would be a better place without them. 

“He should not have given in”, Naruto said. “Having to leave his parents forever! I mean, the Sand would have been seriously offended if he hadn't married Temari – he could have dictated his conditions.”

Except if offending the Sand was exactly what that Danzou was intending, Sasuke thought. 

“It was probably more difficult than that”, Karin joined the conversation. “If he had been too firm on not marrying her, his girl-friend would have begun to doubt his love.”

Naruto did not have any answer to this, and he turned back to the pictures. “There's Sakura!” he said, pointing at the official engagement photo. She was standing behind the important people, so he had not seen her at first sight, Now he noticed that Ino and Choji, Shikamaru's former teammates were standing behind their fathers. He put the magazine back onto the table and picked up the one the two women had been reading. Again he searched for the article on Temari and Shikamaru, stared at the pictures, devoured them – all his old friends, from whom he was separated without knowing when he would see them again. 

Sasuke watched him in astonishment, he also saw the moisture in Naruto's eyes, even though he would not cry openly. It must hurt him, he thought. He himself focussed on his enemies, the two Elders, and his plans of killing them. He realized that so far his plan had only been about killing Danzou – if he wanted to kill the Elders too, he'd have to stay alive after killing him, which meant a complication – or he'd have to see that he could kill them with one stroke, after waiting for an opportunity when he could meet them together. Anyway, he'd need Naruto – or even better, as Naruto obviously had difficulties too, an ally from Konoha – to take him to the Hokage when he was taking counsel with the Elders, so that he could kill all three of them at once – or cover up for him when after killing Danzou he went to search for the Elders. 

He heard his name being called by one of the doctor's assistant – it was time to face doom.


	17. Chapter Fourteen: Generous

The doctor was quite surprised when not one but three persons entered his office. He looked from one to the other, then his eyes came to rest on Karin, who had managed to secure for herself the one chair on the patients' side of the doctor's desk, while the boys were standing.

“What can I do for you?” he asked. 

“His eyesight has got worse lately”, she answered, turning her head to Sasuke. “We think that he might need glasses.”

“I see”, the doctor replied irritatedly and turned to Sasuke. “And what do you think?”

Sasuke was grateful that the doctor talked to him and did not keep talking to Karin. For a moment he thought of saying “no, everything is fine”, and then leaving, but he was rational enough to know that this would only postpone the problem, all the more as both Karin and Naruto knew by now that his vision was not what it should be. Curse Itachi and the Mangekyou Sharingan he had given to him.

“I don't see clearly”, he answered finally. “But I don't think that glasses will help.”

“Well, we'll check this”, the doctor replied. “If you will follow me...”

The examination room was long, dark, narrow and full of medical equipment. It looked all sterile and shiny, made of metal and plastic, not of wood, not even the tables, unlike those in Kabuto's laboratories – and still he was scared. At Orochimaru's place he had mostly been able to avoid being subjected to any medical procedures, and if he had, it had been from his own decision, as getting new tattoos for invocations, and he had always seen that he had remained in control of the situation, not like the poor victims of Kabuto's and Orochimaru's medical experiments. 

Here, however – he was definitely not in control, with Karin and Naruto pushing him from behind, without knowing what the doctor was going to do to him, and with the examination chair where he would be trapped. He had to put his chin on some some plastic plate, and press his forehead against another tablet of plastic, so that he was virtually fixated, and he had to forcefully restrain himself from just getting up and running away. He would not embarrass himself, he thought, yet when the doctor's hands approached his eyes, everything went black. When he regained consciousness he was lying on the floor, covered by a blanket, with Naruto, Karin and the doctor kneeling at his side.

“Are you all right?” the doctor asked.

“Yeah”, Sasuke answered. “What happened?”

“You passed out. Just for some seconds.”

Sasuke sat up. “Well, then let's continue. I want to get over with it.”

The doctor shook his head. “Not now. Take some break and relax. In room three you can lie down for some minutes.”

Sasuke wanted to protest and tell him that this was not necessary but when he got up and his legs felt all wobbly he knew that this was ridiculous. He even accepted the arm Naruto offered to support him, and allowed him to guide him to room three where he sat down on the couch – he refused to lie down, though he felt a bit dizzy, but he closed his eyes. 

“He's always been like this”, Karin explained to Naruto. “Always acting the tough guy and trying to appear strong, even when he was on the brink of death.”

Naruto remembered too: How Sasuke would go to his limits and even beyond them, how he would overstrain himself and be ready to sacrifice himself in order to protect his friends, and how he had to be hospitalized for this on more than one occasion. Again he felt pity for Sasuke, and he longed to touch him to comfort him. He remembered how the nurse had encouraged him to hold Kakashi's hands when Kakashi was still too weak to talk at all, yet he did not have the heart to do it for Sasuke, knowing how he preferred to remain for himself. 

“We had to force him to take some rest after he fought that explosion guy from Akatsuki”, Karin continued. “And after his fight against his brother he was on the verge of death too.”

Sasuke opened his eyes, searching for some words to prevent Karin from telling about their fight against the Hachibi's jinchuuriki but luckily she stopped by herself when she saw that he was looking sternly at her. 

“That was ridiculous”, she said. “He just wanted to check your cornea for some scars or injuries. There was no reason to pass out.”

Naruto was shocked at the way she talked to Sasuke – Sasuke himself just stared at her. He clearly remembered the scene that had made him pass out, the doctor's hands reaching out for his eyes.

“You've never had anyone attempt to pluck out your eyes”, he said. 

“Who attempted to pluck out your eyes?”

“Itachi. During our fight.”

“While you were still alive?” Naruto asked, genuinely shocked. “Why would he do this? If he intended to kill you anyway, why would he not first do this?”

“Maybe he thought he was being generous”, Sasuke suggested, mainly for the fun of watching Naruto's expression of horror. “Plucking out my eyes, but allowing me to live.”

He knew of course now that Itachi had never truly intended to kill him, or take his eyes. Sometimes however he still wondered whether Madara had been correct in this point: whether Itachi's intention had not been that one of them, no matter who, killed the other and obtained his eyes. He had been far too serious during the fight – it might easily have gone wrong.

“Yeah, that has always been his idea of generosity”, Naruto said and his voice was harsh and deep. “Not killing you. Just making you live miserably. That was how he loved you.”

Timidly he reached out to touch Sasuke's shoulder – he could no longer resist the wish to comfort him. “I would have cared differently for you.”

Sasuke's reaction was odd: He caught Naruto's hand, preventing him from touching his shoulder, but he kept Naruto's hand in his own. Naruto did not know whether to feel rejected or accepted – anyway, it was strange to have his hand in Sasuke's who held it firmly.

Sasuke was confused by Naruto's behaviour – by his concern for him, by his horror at Itachi's deeds, by his contempt for Itachi's love (which made him, Sasuke, a bit angry, as he knew now how much his brother had loved him). He was touched my the warmth in Naruto's voice, and irritated by his use of the word love. He was insecure how he should understand it, and he preferred to hold Naruto's hand instead of having it on his shoulder.

He pondered Naruto's words, which had reminded him of what Itachi had said after killing the clan: Cling to life, live miserably, hate people. As a child he had believed blindly in them - that he had to remain lonely and miserable, because this was the only way to become strong. Itachi would not, wouldn't he, as he was the strongest of all. Later, when he had been living with Orochimaru and had been as lonely and miserable as he could wish for, and hated everyone around him, he had sometimes wondered about these words, and whether it had been wise to believe in them, but he had not given much thought to them, and later, when he had defeated Orochimaru and was busy with his search for Itachi, and even more after Madara's tale, he had completely forgotten about them. Only now, Naruto had brought them back to his mind: Live miserably. Was that really what Itachi had intended for him, even though allegedly he had loved him more than even the village, for which he had sacrificed the clan? Better not think about it, and go on trusting that Itachi was not a monster but had loved him to the end.

Naruto was thinking about Itachi too – about his own last encounter with Sasuke's older brother. How Itachi had asked him what he would do if Sasuke attacked Konoha, and how he had answered that he would protect both Sasuke and Konoha. Itachi had smiled at him, he remembered, as if he still cared for his brother in his own, rather twisted way. Also, Itachi had hinted at the possibility that Sasuke might not return to Konoha, at least not with peaceful intentions, destroying Naruto's hope that after defeating Itachi, Sasuke and himself would be friends and companions again, comrades of the Leaf, as they had been when they were children. 

It came to his mind that he still did not know about Sasuke's plans – he was glad that Sasuke was staying with him, and he did not want to drive him away with questions about what he planned to do after having found healing in that legendary Blessed Realm. He could not go on like that, he realized. No matter how much he liked Sasuke and wanted him to stay, no matter how much he hated Danzou, he could not naively give shelter to Sasuke and his team when they were plotting to fight against Konoha, using his place as a base.

But why should Sasuke fight against Konoha? Why should he believe Itachi, and trust him more than his friend – wasn't Itachi a member of Akatsuki, a criminal who had murdered his own family? Why should he take his words seriously? - Damn, he had already managed to confuse him, and to make him distrust Sasuke. 

For some minutes they were thus absorbed each in his own thoughts, Naruto's hand still in Sasuke's.

“But he didn't succeed, did he?” Karin finally interrupted their silence. “You still have your eyes.”

“It was only a Tsukuyomi anyway”, Sasuke answered. “Nothing real.”

“Only an illusion? Then why do you complain?” 

Naruto well remembered Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan that had brought down both Kakashi and Sasuke when he had visited Konoha after the Sandaime's death. Kakashi had explained to him how one second had been stretched to three days, and how, even though it had only been an illusion, the pain had been real.

“Have you ever had a nightmare?” Sasuke asked. “Did you manage to dissolve it by yourself, or did you wake up screaming?” 

Naruto wondered how often this had happened to Sasuke when he was still a child, even without succumbing to a Tsukuyomi. 

“In his Tsukuyomi, Itachi managed to pluck out one of my eyes. I was lucky that I broke the illusion before he got the other one too – otherwise the illusion might have become true.” Maybe he had not been lucky, he thought. Itachi holding his one eye in his hand and letting it slide into a jar had seemed a bit surreal, making him realize that he was caught in an illusion. Still breaking it had taken all his strength. 

“If you were able to break that Tsukuyomi, you will also be able to realize that the doctor truly wants to help you, and that he does not want to pluck out your eyes”, Karin said. 

“I have learnt how to break genjutsus”, Naruto said. “Someone has to touch you, disrupting the flow of chakra, Once I was brought back from one of Itachi's genjutsus like this myself.”

Sasuke wondered by whom, though he somehow knew that he would be happier if he did not imagine this too vividly. 

“I could do it for you if you want to.”

Sasuke finally dissolved the physical contact to rearrange his hair, making Naruto hold his breath, but he was relieved immediately when Sasuke answered: “It's okay.” 

It's ridiculous, Sasuke thought, the doctor was not going to put him under a Tsukuyomi, not even under a conventional genjutsu, and even if he did, he would be able to break it by himself. Yet he would not turn down Naruto's well-meant offer.

“Let's go and start again”, he said. 

They had to wait for some minutes, as the doctor had begun to treat another patient in the meantime.

“Do you feel better now?” The doctor asked when he had time to receive them.

Sasuke nodded. 

“Someone once tried to pluck out his eyes”, Karin explained.

The doctor's expression, unlike Naruto's, was rather one of disbelief than of horror. “Why was that?”

“It was during a fight”, Sasuke answered, not wanting to tell any details. 

“But who fights like that? When I was a boy we used to say that only girls would bite or attempt to scratch out your eyes. You didn't fight against girls, did you?”

“No, definitely not”, Sasuke answered, bewildered. 

“Then let's start. We'll take it more slowly now, and I will take care to explain to you everything I do.”

So a second time they headed for the examination room, and Naruto followed. He felt insecure whether he was really needed – Sasuke seemed much more confident, much more resolved now. Still when Sasuke had climbed into the examination chair, Naruto reached out for his hand, and again, Sasuke kept it in his own.

“That's a good idea”, the doctor commented. “You may help your friend to reorient himself in the present when he is reminded of that incident in his past. - I should apologize”, he added. “I took it for granted that you knew what was awaiting you. I should have asked.”

It was all easier now, and not that much slower. The doctor kept his promise and explained everything, and he refrained from approaching Sasuke's eyes with his hands or with some eye drops. Instead he lowered a heavy black shield, so that it came to rest on Sasuke's nose (no, a millimetre above it, Naruto convinced himself), and Sasuke had to look through or into it; Naruto did not know. He had pressed Naruto's hand when this black thing had gone down, but soon he relaxed, and after some time, he let go completely. Naruto had no idea what was happening, but Sasuke seemed perfectly calm, saying some letters, declaring that he could not read the lower line, then the doctor would manipulate the device which went click click click, and Sasuke would say some more letters. 

“Don't strain yourself”, the doctor said. “We are going to find the optimum, so that you can see clearly without any effort.”

Naruto resigned, It was not necessary that he understood, it was enough that Sasuke did.

Finally they seemed content, and the black device was lifted. “Now I still have to check your cornea”, the doctor said. “For scars, or for some astigmatism.”

Sasuke reached out for Naruto's hand again, he braced himself; Naruto felt his hand pressed when the doctor introduced some fluid into Sasuke's eyes “just for the contrast, so that I can better see” – this time Sasuke did not pass out, but he went pale, and when he climbed out of that chair, Naruto had to support him. Naruto's heart hurt with pity for his friend, who suffered so much during a simple examination, and with anger at the one who was responsible for Sasuke's suffering.

“Itachi is dead, is he?” he asked.

“Yes”, Sasuke answered. He was busy coping with the situation at hand, he could not think of his brother now.

“He should consider himself lucky that he's dead”, Naruto continued. “If he were still alive, I'd make him pay so dearly for everything he's done to you. He'd wish he'd never have been born.”

Maybe Itachi had had this wish more than once during his short, joyless life, Sasuke thought. One day he'd have to tell the truth to Naruto, but this was definitely the wrong moment. They were back in the doctor's office.

“So that's it”, the doctor said. “You do need glasses, but apart from that, there's nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah”, Sasuke murmured. He swallowed – he felt dumbfounded. 

“I mean, looking good is great, but seeing well should be more important. And in bed you take them off anyway.”

Sasuke was confused.

“It's not about this”, he answered. “I am a fighter.”

“Yes, I forgot. But, honestly, aren't you a bit too old for this? I fought a lot myself when I was a child, always somewhere in the streets, organizing fights against the boys from the next street. My glasses got broken more than once, and my parents made me pay for them with my pocket-money, which I found unfair, as the other boys who didn't have glasses did not have to take care. But you don't fight in the streets any more, do you?”

“It's for sports”, Naruto intervened, trying to spare Sasuke from having to explain that he was a ninja. Sasuke, meanwhile, was wondering about this place where fighting was considered an appropriate occupation for boys, but not for grown-up men. 

“I see”, the doctor replied. “Boxing or martial arts?” 

“Martial arts”, Naruto answered again. Sasuke knew neither of these words. 

“Ah, interesting. I've always found them fascinating, but I just don't have the time to learn them myself. Well, there's of course the possibility of contacts, but you should have a pair of glasses in addition, in case anything happens.” 

“What are contacts?” Sasuke asked, and the doctor explained. 

“Are you sure you want them?” Karin asked. “Something in your eyes? And it would delay our departure even further. - We are not from here”, she explained, “just passing through this town.”

“Then you will also have to consider whether you want to get your glasses here, or wait till you are back home. Your vision is not that bad, you should be able to make it without running into a tree.”

The words cut into Sasuke's heart. He had difficulties concentrating and focussing on the important questions. 

“Where do I get these contacts? And how much do they cost?”

“You can have them fitted here, or at an optician's. The price depends on the kind you choose. We'll talk about it when you have made up your mind whether you want them, and whether you want to get them here, or wait until you are back home. Though as far as I have heard they are still more expensive in the ninja countries, as they are less common there.”

So he had figured it out after all, Naruto thought. 

The doctor looked at Sasuke, testing him, but Sasuke returned the stare. 

“I will think about it”, he answered.


	18. Chapter Fifteen: A New Promise

“You see, this was not that horrible”, Karin said. “No need for drama. Now you'll no longer have to pretend that everything is fine while you continue knocking over glasses, making us read the small print to you and running into trees. Just get glasses and everything will be fine.”

Sasuke hadn't said anything since they had left the doctor, and had left it to Naruto and Karin to find them a café where they could sit in the sun and decide how to go on. Naruto was a bit worried: He empathized with Sasuke and pitied him – no longer perfect, no longer an invulnerable fighter, but hurt at the core of his pride, his eyes. Yet on the other hand Karin was correct: If Sasuke suffered from myopia, denying it was no solution, and so there was no alternative to accepting the facts and getting glasses. He was, however, quite glad that it was not him who needed them.

“I mean, it's only glasses”, Karin continued. “You can always take them off if you want to be pretty.”

“I could if I were as stupid as you”, Sasuke retorted, and the insult shocked Naruto as if it had been directed at himself. The relationship between Sasuke and the kunoichi of his team seemed a bit difficult. 

“In my eyes you will always be pretty”, he said to comfort Sasuke. “With or without glasses.”

Sasuke spilt some water (not from overlooking the glass and knocking it over, however.) What had he done to make Naruto say this? 

“In my eyes too”, Karin added.

“And I had just thought that getting glasses might be good for something”, Sasuke snapped back. 

Things seemed pretty bad between the two of them, Naruto decided. 

“We can get some that are particularly hideous”, he suggested, “if that is what you want.”

Looking pretty was actually the least of Sasuke's concerns. He did not plan to seduce anyone – this was what occupied Karin's mind, his was busy with important matters. It was rather – it was that he could not imagine himself fighting that Danzou with glasses on. How would it look like? He'd seem like some weakling, or like that idiot, Kabuto, who spent more time in his laboratories than actually fighting, or at least training to fight. He was different – he was strong, and a fighter. 

He could take off these glasses for fighting, to be sure. On the other hand he was rational enough to know that to fight he would need to see clearly.

He finished his drink. “Let's get over with it”, he said. “Where do I get these glasses?” 

Naruto shrugged. “I have seen several stores in the center of town.”

Karin accompanied them back to the town hall, but she didn't join them to look for glasses. “I have promised Juugo to relieve him in the afternoon”, she said. “He wants to meet again with the same children he played with yesterday. - See you later! Naruto, make sure that he doesn't chicken out!”

“I will”, Naruto answered. “I promise you that we will return with glasses that will make him look even prettier than he is now!” 

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke had ever been to an optician's store, and neither of them had an idea how to do this. Sasuke had the prescription from the doctor and thought he'd just give it to the shop assistant and get some glasses in return, but before he could do this, Naruto had already asked a shop assistant for glasses “for my friend” and had been shown upstairs, to the men's department, where Sasuke realized that things were going to be much more complicated than he had imagined: Hundreds, or even thousands of glasses were looking at him from the racks, threatening him: This is what you will be from now on. He slowed down his steps 

Naruto was impressed too. He had not thought that there would be so many glasses to choose from – though, honestly, they all looked the same to him. He had no idea where to begin.

“Let's look for your size”, he said. “Do you have your prescription at hand?” 

Sasuke showed it to Naruto, but nowhere was there any big, underlined number with “size” above it. “I think they're sorted by colour”, he said and headed for the black ones.

They sold them without glass, he realized. It made sense, of course, and he was glad that he would not have to choose this or that frame just because it happened to have the correct strength. Of course this was not of much help as they all looked equally horrible to him.

Naruto was at a loss too: Only slowly he saw the differences.

“Some are made of metal, some of plastic, or horn”, he pointed out. “Which do you prefer?”

“Metal”, Sasuke answered. “I don't want to look like Karin.”

On occasion I will have to ask what is the matter between the two of them, Naruto thought. He turned to those with the metal frames and finally saw that they were all different in form: Some were round, some were rectangular, and also, they were different in size. It was not of much help: he had no idea which ones might suit Sasuke. 

A shop assistant turned up behind them. “You may try them on, of course”, he said. 

“What for?” Sasuke asked. “They don't have glasses anyway, so I won't be able to tell whether they fit.”

“Maybe then we should first determine the strength you need.”

It took Sasuke some seconds to understand him, then he showed him the prescription. “We've already done this. We just have to choose the frame.”

“Well, then perhaps you'd like to try them on to see whether they suit you...”

Sasuke really didn't care. He was sure he'd look like an idiot with any of them.

“Maybe these...”

The shop assistant put a pair on his nose, and Sasuke froze at the intrusion of his personal space. 

“No”, Naruto said, saving Sasuke from deciding whether to say “no” because he didn't like them, or “yes” because he was convinced that he wouldn't look better with any of the others either. (Actually he hadn't even looked into a mirror.)

“Well, they might be a bit too big”, the shop assistant admitted. He took another pair from the rack, and this time Sasuke caught his hand, took the frame from him and put it on himself. 

“They are better”, Naruto decided. “But not perfect. What about these?” 

He pointed at another pair, the shop assistant passed it to Sasuke, and Sasuke put it on.

“No, definitely not. He looks like a strict teacher now.”

“Well, this one has rounded corners...”

Naruto was getting into it: Seeing how minimal differences made Sasuke look like a different person. He learnt to rule out certain types (the butterfly-wing shaped ones, for example) without even making Sasuke try them on. 

“I see you are going for something neutral”, the shop assistant said. “Maybe you'd like to try some colourless ones as well.”

He had brought a whole collection, and Naruto made Sasuke try them on too. Some were quite okay, but none was perfect.

“Can I have some paper, and something to write?” Naruto asked, and after providing him with these issues, the shop assistant watched how Naruto tried to make notes of the frames that had been okay (though not perfect). “the rectangular one from the second row with the rounded corners and the broader upper side.” After some time he showed Naruto where to find the numbers of the frames.

“We also have a mirror”, he told Sasuke. “If you want to have a look at the frames your friend has chosen for you.”

Hesitatingly, Sasuke obeyed. He did not see the point of it, as he was sure that he'd look stupid, but he could not refuse without embarrassing himself even more. As he expected, he hated them all. 

“Yeah, put on the second one again!” Naruto said. “I think it was best.” 

Sasuke did so, and Naruto drew a circle around the corresponding number. He thanked the shop assistant, then they left for the next store. Naruto looked forward to it – trying out glasses on Sasuke was fun, actually. He had a bit of a bad conscience for it, however, knowing how much his friend was suffering.

Their visit to the second store was rather short. Naruto had now understood how buying glasses worked, so he went straight ahead for the men's department, where they were greeted by an elderly assistant. 

“I'm still busy”, she said. “You may begin looking for yourselves; I'll join you as soon as possible.”

So they went again for the black frames – Naruto had gained some experienc now at choosing which ones would do, and some were actually quite fine, but again, none was perfect. Sasuke's passivity was a bit worrying, but then, Naruto had given his promise to Karin that he wouldn't let him chicken out, and that they would find glasses that made him look even prettier than he already was.

The shop assistant had joined them without noticing it. “You might look prettier if you tried to smile”, she suggested to Sasuke. Naruto felt him freeze – it was the kind of remark Sasuke was not able to deal with. He reached out for him – he really liked touching him, he realized, and Sasuke did not seem to mind. 

“He is pretty enough as he is”, he told the shop assistant. “You might need glasses yourself, if you don't see this.” 

It was stupid, of course, as the woman was wearing glasses already. Maybe she needed stronger ones.

“We will look elsewhere”, he told Sasuke, loud enough for the shop assistant to hear. “There's another shop down the street. We don't have to buy anything here.”

He led him outside, his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. Sasuke was absorbed in his pain and suffering horribly by now, and glad for the warmth Naruto offered to him – it were not only the glasses any more, it was also that this place seemed to hate him. He liked it, actually, he was, all in all, enjoying his stay in this town, if people were not always making fun of him, humiliating him, expecting him to smile. But he just could not force himself to smile when he was needing glasses. 

It was no longer simply about not being a fear-inspiring avenger when he was wearing glasses, it was that he would have to part from his face as it was now: He would keep it of course, but as his sight was getting worse, he would no longer be able to see it clearly without glasses. At the moment he still had an idea of how he looked like, but with the Mangekyou Sharingan, it would deteriorate more and more, making him need stronger and stronger glasses and stopping from seeing his own face clearly without them – curse Itachi!

He followed Naruto to the next shop – it was obvious that Naruto enjoyed himself, but he meant well, and so Sasuke was ready to put up with it. He was grateful that Naruto had defended him against the shop assistant, and he distracted himself by wondering whether Naruto really thought him pretty. It was a nice thought, and letting Naruto choose the glasses he thought him most handsome with was probably not the worst choice.

The shop was unusually big, and they were left alone to choose for themselves while the shop assistants were busy discussing what they wanted to do for their colleague's wedding which was going to take place in two weeks. Naruto even had to wait for a few minutes until they had time to give him something to write, else however he was content that they wouldn't be bothered but could try out the frames by themselves. He considered himself an expert buyer of glasses by now. Round, oval, rectangular, butterfly-winged, fancy – they had secured themselves a table, and Naruto sorted the frames by form, and then in the order of how they looked. Though still, none of them was prefect. 

Sasuke remained compliant, putting on even the weirdest frames Naruto brought him, which he would have rejected after a single look in the first store, and funnily it was with these weird ones that he dared to look at himself in the mirror. 

“With these you look like some old scholar”, Naruto would say. “Wanna have a look?” and Sasuke would look into the mirror and agree to it.

They ended up with a lot of notes about which models had been okay. Naruto made Sasuke try these on again, and drew a circle around the ones that were best among this selection. Sasuke felt the jaws of fate closing around him: Trying out glasses that were ridiculous, knowing that they were ridiculous and that he would not have to wear them, was fun – the thought that in the future he would have to wear some more or less decent glasses all the time was not.  
He expected Naruto to decide that they would purchase the frame he had just declared the best, and also better than the one he had found in the first shop. 

“So shall we get that one?” he asked.

Naruito shook his head. “It's okay, but -” he sought for words to explain it - “it's not really you. I am looking for glasses that make you look like you.”

Sasuke was moved by these words and he smiled, but only faintly; Naruto knew that the events of the day had exhausted him. He put his hand around Sasuke's shoulders again, he felt more confident about it now, and Sasuke, after getting tense for one moment, relaxed, and Naruto relaxed too. 

“Why can't we just buy some glasses that are okay?” Sasuke asked. “Did you not say that I will always be pretty in your eyes?” 

“I did – and I will see that it comes true. I won't give up before we find glasses that are perfect.”

For all Sasuke was going through, and for all the pity he felt for him, Naruto was in heaven: Sasuke was with him, he allowed him to be close to him, to care for him, to comfort him, and he was going to stay for some more days – he felt warm and elated, and he wished that this moment might last forever. 

He'd see that Sasuke would smile too, he thought, even though he needed glasses. 

A/N:   
Sneakyfox: Thanks for your review and your compliments! The next chapter will contain some more humiliation for Sasuke, but then it will be over, at least for the time being. I hope that he can still be the source of amusement...

Kinai26: Thanks for the compliments too! I don't find these tests that horrible, but this is mostly because I want contacts... It were different before my mother had allowed me them. I think that when one looks at the fight against Killerbee Sasuke is quite able to swallow his pride and accept help – he even did after the fight against Deidara. It is only that during fights or directly after a fight he just does not realize that he might need help (as after the fight against Itachi.) And, yes, affection is blooming, but it takes them time – after all, Sasuke and his team have only arrived a few days ago, and they still have to get used to each other. I try to let the blossom open up a little bit more in each chapter. 

The question of revenge is a complicated one, and I try to find a complicated answer in my story...


	19. Chapter Sixteen: Cute Avenger

In the next shop, after finding the men's department, Naruto immediately told the shop assistant that they would not need any help. The assistant, a woman again, kept watching them from her place behind the counter where she was busy cleaning and fixing glasses. Naruto wondered what she thought of the two of them, him trying out all kinds of frames on Sasuke, Sasuke pretending to be a shop window dummy, motionless letting Naruto choose frames, put them on his nose, decide whether they were okay. Let her think what she would, Naruto thought, and not be bothered by her suspicious looks at the heaps of frames on the table they had claimed for themselves: A large one for those that clearly did not suit Sasuke, and a small one with those Naruto thought acceptable. He was getting picky, and rejected frames he would have considered fine in the first store. He was looking for the perfect frame – the one that would make Sasuke look like himself. 

“Can I take these back to where they belong?” the shop assistant asked, pointing at the heap of frames Naruto had already discarded. 

“No, better leave them where they are”, Naruto answered. “I need to know which ones we've already tried.”

The woman raised her eyebrows, but she did not object, probably because there weren't any other customers around. She did not return to her place behind the counter, however, but began to arrange the frames in one of the other racks, every now and then casting a look at the boys and making Naruto nervous. 

“Are you sure that black is the best colour?” she asked, coming over again. “Maybe you would like to try something else?” 

She passed a blue frame to Naruto. Sasuke shook his head, barely noticable, and Naruto decided to ignore it, though he, too, was doubtful. Indeed, the frame the shop assistant had given to him was definitely not the one he was looking for, but on the other hand, blue did not seem that bad, so that he was ready to try the next one the assistant gave him, and this time – Sasuke saw Naruto's eyes widen, a happy smile formed on his lips, and he beamed as he turned to the shop assistant to thank her. She smiled too, satisfied with herself.

“They are perfect”, Naruto said. “Sasuke, you wanna have a look into the mirror? You really look cute.”

Sasuke was not sure whether he appreciated this compliment. Mostly he was glad that Naruto had come to a decision, so that their quest was over and they could return home. Reluctantly he peeked into the mirror: Naruto was correct, he was – yes, cute was the correct word. It was a confusing sight, and he was not sure whether he liked it. It was definitely not how he saw himself, or how he wanted to look like when he would be fighting that Danzou. He looked as he had looked when he was little, before Itachi had murdered the clan, when he had still been weak and naive, unaware that Itachi was not the caring brother he pretended to be, unaware of his murderous plans. 

A few months ago he would have hated himself for looking cute and innocent like this, as he had hated and despised the little child who had been too small and weak to protect his family against Itachi, and too stupid to understand that Itachi could not be trusted. Now, however, understanding that Itachi had been no more than a child, manipulated and abused himself, he had also learnt not to despise the little boy who had loved and trusted his older brother and aspired to resemble him – instead he mourned him: He might have remained cute and innocent for longer, loving his family and being loved by them, without any knowledge of danger, or evil, or any other worries than his perpetual inferiority to Itachi, or his father's neglect of him. It had not been fate, or his brothe's craziness, that had turned him into a lonely avenger, it had been a matter of politics and fights for power in Konoha. If those in power had not hated his clan, he might have been as all the other children of the Leaf, cute and innocent and happy, giving his best to become a respected shinobi of the Leaf, a member of the military police. 

He might be cute again, as he had been at the age of seven, the mirror told him, but he was not yet sure whether he wanted this. He had been an avenger for too long. He felt a tear in his eyes – he took off the empty frame to wipe it off.

Naruto, who was watching him, reached out to him and drew him into a light embrace. “There's need to cry: You are very cute. All the girls will come running after you. Just wait!” 

It was not the consolation Sasuke was looking for, but he did not feel like explaining the true reason for his tears to Naruto. “You fight them off for me, will you?” he answered and gently dissolved the embrace.

Slowly he realized what had happened: They had finally found a frame Naruto was happy with, and one that he himself, as he reluctantly had to admit (though only to himself), could actually live with. He got up. 

“So it's decided?” the shop assistant asked. “You don't want to try any others?” 

Sasuke shook he head. He was tired and exhausted. 

“No, thanks, they're perfect”, Naruto said. 

“Then I need your prescription now, so that we can fit the glasses. You can pick them up in a few days.”

She looked at Naruto, but it was Sasuke who handed her the prescription. He took charge again, answering the assistant's questions about having non-reflecting glasses, or some special kind of glass that would turn into sunglasses as the light outside got brighter. He behaved completely rational now, he did not even forgot to ask for the price. He cringed visibly when he heard the answer. 

“Do you have to ask your parents? We'll reserve them for you until tomorrow, so that they can give their permission.”

“No, it's okay”, he answered. “I can pay.”

He would have to check his bank account, he realized. His reserves were shrinking rapidly in this town. First, however, there was something else to decide...

When they returned to Naruto's place, Karin and Suigetsu were waiting for them. Juugo, however, was missing.

“I kept my promise”, Naruto told Karin. “He didn't chicken out, and we found glasses that make him look even prettier than he is now. You'll love them – they are absolutely wonderful.”

Karin took off her own glasses and smiled at Sasuke with her most seductive smile. He took a step backwards.

Suigetsu was not up to date – it turned out that Karin had not told him of their visit to the ophthalmologist. She did so now. 

“So where are they now? Why are you not wearing them?”

Karin explained that it would take some time to cut the glasses. “Now tell, Naruto, how do they look like?” she asked.

“Rather small and round and a brilliant blue. He'll look adorable.”

“Sounds cute”, Karin said, smiling again her seductive smile. 

“Sounds really stupid”, Suigetsu said. “It will be a refreshing sight, however, to see you lose your coolness and immaculate beauty and become a mere mortal.”

“Don't be too sure”, Naruto warned him. “Wait until the girls line up to catch a glance of him.”

“Hopefully not”, Suigetsu replied. “Karin alone is trouble enough.”

For once, Sasuke agreed to him. He felt increasingly irritated and annoyed: If not even his team could take him seriously when he was wearing glasses, who would? How would that Danzou triumph over him, seeing that his eyes had begun to fail him even before he had started his revenge?

“Where's Juugo?” he asked, getting a grip on himself.

“Playing with some other children. He seems to enjoy it.”

Some other children – had it gone that far already? 

“We'll have to wait. There is a decision we have to come to. I'll tell you when he has arrived – I don't want to explain everything twice.”

Naruto saw the questioning looks in Sasuke's teammates' faces, but they remained silent – Sasuke was still their captain. He felt excluded – whatever it was that had to be decided, it would be a decision between Sasuke and his team. 

They had now spread all over his room: Suigetsu had cleared the one chair Naruto owned of the clothes that had been lying on it, so that he could sit there, Karin was sitting on the floor, Sasuke – again! - on his bed. He found a place for himself on the table, and from there he spotted a light wheelchair in a corner. 

“Is that for you?” he asked Suigetsu. “Did they give it to you at the hospital?” 

“They insisted on lending it to me. They could not stop wondering about my legs, and they made me walk around in the hospital garden, to see how far I could walk. It was the same as ever: After some hundred metres I had to sit down to take a break, and so they decided to give me a wheelchair. It's very light, and I can fold it together and carry it with me, and if I get tired, I can sit in it and move on wheels until my arms get tired and I have to walk again. Very practical.”

“Very unpractical”, Sasuke replied. “As soon as we are back in the wilderness, where there aren't any streets, it will be completely useless.”

“But this won't be too soon, will it? At least we'll have to wait until you get your glasses.” 

Sasuke was silenced. The atmosphere was tense now, with Sasuke being angry at his teammates making fun of him and nervous because of what he was going to ask of them, so that he was irritable and snapped at them more often than usual, while Karin and Suigetsu (and Naruto too) were burning with curiosity.

“How did you get here if you can walk only for some hundred meteres?” Naruto asked to ease the tension.

“Juugo and myself took turns carrying him”, Sasuke answered in Suigetsu's stead. “We don't need to carry a wheelchair too.”

So much for getting rid of the tension, Naruto thought. He wondered again about Juugo's powers, but this had an end when the superpower kid himself finally arrived. 

“The other children are having dinner with their families”, he explained. “We'll meet again in about one hour.”

Sasuke swallowed. “So I guess that we have to be grateful that you can spare us one hour of your precious time.”

Juugo looked offended. “We'll leave tomorrow, won't we? Why can't I play today?”

Sasuke's tone got milder. He had not intended to hurt Juugo. “It's okay. You will even be able to play a bit longer: We will stay for a few days more.” He paused, and Naruto knew that telling what he had to tell was painful and humiliating to him. “Karin insisted that I get my eyes checked. The doctor diagnosed me with myopia and gave me a prescription for glasses. It will take some time until I can pick them up.”

“Really?” Juugo asked back. “I often saw your eyes bleeding, and you covered them with your hands as if they were hurting. Is it really only that you need glasses?”

“The doctor said so.”

“But that's good news, isn't it?” 

Naruto's heart warmed to the superpower kid, who seemed to genuinely care for Sasuke, contrary to the two grown-ups who could not let pass any opportunity to make fun of him. Also, he rejoiced: It was real, Sasuke was going to stay at least until he could pick up his glasses.

Sasuke too was busy pondering Juugo's words. Somehow, he had a point: Being short-sighted was certainly to be preferred to turning blind, and needing glasses was better than having to transplant Itachi's eyes. He just hoped that the doctor's diagnosis was correct.

“There is another matter we have to decide on”, he continued. “The doctor explained me about contacts.”

He had to explain them to Juugo and Suigetsu too, with some help from Karin, who had been better at grasping the medical details. “It will take some more time to get them fitted, and to get used to them. We will have to decide whether we are going to postpone our departure and our search for the Blessed Realm until I got them.”

“Are you sure you want them?” Karin asked. “Something in your eye! Remember how you passed out when the doctor's hands only approached your eyes!” 

Sasuke would have preferred her to keep this incident secret from Juugo and Suigetsu.

“I have survived worse manipulations of my body at Orochimaru's lair”, he replied. “I will be able to deal with these contacts. The question is whether we are going to wait for them.”

He looked at this teammates, not at Naruto, who, as he had expected, was excluded from this decision.

“I am against it”, Suigetsu answered. “It will be fun to see you with glasses. I haven't had much fun lately, so I am not going to miss it.”

“I am against it too”, Karin joined him. “Naruto said that he found glasses that make you look even prettier than you are without glasses. I want to see you at your most beautiful.”

Sasuke had gone pale, barely able to hide his anger and his disappointment. Naruto was angry too: Sasuke was a captain who cared for his team, wasn't he, rather too generous than too strict, allowing them to search for that place that did not exist. Why could they not grant him this wish that was much more rational, considering that Sasuke was indeed a warrior and had to be able to fight without worrying about his glasses getting broken or falling down. At least they could pursue their ridiculous quest without him, and allow him to remain at his, Naruto's place, until they had found healing and were ready to pick him up again.

Juugo was next to speak: “I am for staying. It won't matter if it takes some more days before we set out again to find that Blessed Realm. We have been searching for it for several weeks now, after all. And Sasuke really wants these contacts.” 

Naruto was relieved – there was a chance now that they were going to stay. Sasuke was partially relieved too.

“So it's two against two”, he said. “And my vote counts more, as I am your captain. We will stay.”

“I don't think so”, Suigetsu replied. “Your vote doesn't count at all, because it's all about your vanity. Be glad that we are ready to wait until you get your glasses.”

But they wanted to see them with glasses, didn't they? Naruto thought. And Suigetsu wanted to try that wheelchair. It dawned on him that they were not in a hurry to leave – they just had fun torturing Sasuke. 

“Naruto may decide”, Karin suggested. “It's his place – certainly he longs to have it for himself again.”

There were some seconds of silence before Suigetsu joined her: “Eh, Naruto, what's your opinion? You want to see him with glasses too, don't you?” 

They all looked at him, waiting for his answer, only Sasuke, after a short, imploring glance at him, had lowered his eyes. Naruto felt his pain, his tension and humiliation, but – suddenly he could empathize very well with Suigetsu – he dragged out this moment and waited some time before he announced his decision: “Feel welcome to stay! I will gladly accommodate you as my guests for as long as you want.”


	20. Chapter Seventeen: The First Letter

They will stay! Naruto thought while he was preparing for work. They will stay for some more days, or even weeks, and it was Sasuke himself who has asked his team to prolong their stay here.

They will stay, he thought when during breaks at work he looked at Sasuke, who had discovered the collection of newspapers they kept at the restaurant for free use by the guests, and had taken it with him to read them at his team's table. Naruto went over to him to explain to him that he was not supposed to take them all for himself but only read one at a time and return it when he had finished it. Sasuke blushed and apologized.

They will stay! Naruto thought when he watched Suigetsu intently listening to the band that provided for this evening's entertainment at the restaurant. After some time he lost interest, not surprisingly, as the band was not very good, and he asked Naruto about the bands that were going to perform the next days. Naruto brought him the restaurant's programme, and some leaflets from other places, and the local magazine for events of all kind, indispensable for people who planned an evening out with their friends. Suigetsu studied it thoroughly. 

They will stay Naruto thought when Karin, getting bored with her teammates being absorbed in their lecture, asked Naruto whether as the heir to the rights of the Icha-Icha-series he happened to have some of Jiraiya's novels at home. He gave her his battered copy of the Gutsy Ninja which he always carried on his body. She was delighted. 

“You have it!” she exclaimed. “It's the only of Jiraiya-sama's books that I have never read – I was never able to lay my hands on it, no matter how many second-hand bookshops I scoured for it, and it's been out of print for years. How did you get it?”

“It was a personal present”, Naruto answered. 

She thanked him and took the book with her upstairs, to read it in his apartment. They'll stay, she will have time to finish and return it before they leave, Naruto thought.

They'll stay, he thought when Juugo arrived at nightfall, out of breath and full of stories, but cruelly sent to bed by Sasuke as, according to Sasuke, it was a time when children of his age were supposed to be fast asleep. 

They'll stay, he thought when long after midnight, long after Sasuke and Suigetsu had retired too, he returned to his apartment, finding Sasuke curled up in his bed, barely leaving enough space for him. He took what space there was, and fell asleep with Sasuke's smell in his nose, and his body's warmth warming his blankets.

They'll stay, he thought when he woke up to find that again they had prepared breakfast for him, and only waited for him to get up.

They'll stay, he thought when they had left his apartment, Suigetsu and Karin to the hospital to take some more tests (Karin did not trust the doctors there, so she went with her teammate), Sasuke and Juugo to the ophthalmologist to tell him that Sasuke had made up his mind to get contacts. (Juugo's main reason for him was that in the morning his little friends had to attend school.) They will stay, he thought, looking at his empty apartment, where only the neatly folded blankets on the floor, the backpacks and Sasuke's katana on the wardrobe were proof that they would return soon. 

It was, somehow, a nice change, to have his apartment again for himself – some time to think and relax. To lie in his bed diagonally, stretch, spread his arms and dream of Sasuke returning in a few hours. The mere thought made his chest widen and his lower body get all warm – though on the other hand he knew all too well that it was easier to think clearly when Sasuke was not present. And he was desperately in need of some clear thoughts, after the past three days' events, even though even trying to think made his heart clench and his muscles tense. He needed to think – he needed to find out about Sasuke's plans once he and his team had discovered that Blessed Realm and found healing for their wounds – or admitted to themselves that this place did not exist. Curse Itachi for making him suspicious against his friend – but Sasuke's behaviour, his secrecy, his refusal to tell anything about his plans beyond his search for this place that did not exist, was suspicious. He needed to keep them with him, he thought – as long as they were here, they could not attack Konoha, but also, he'd somehow have to trick Sasuke into telling him about his plans. Damn – he had never been good at manipulation, but somehow he'd have to learn. He should be glad that he would be able to support Konoha, even from far away – but the thought of tricking and manipulating Sasuke, and thus putting a distance between the two of them, just now when they were getting close again, made him freeze – he got up from his bed. 

He was glad when the patron's daughter interrupted the circle of his thoughts, bringing him a letter. He opened it, expecting a note from the publishing-house of the Icha-Icha-series, but it was a letter from Sakura.

Dear Naruto! 

Finally I can write to you. It's impossible to send any letters from Konoha, as they are all censored, but being part of the delegation that negotiated the terms of a marriage between Temari and Shikamaru I am able to post this letter from Suna. 

Gaara has asked for you, Danzou's announcement about shutting you away at some secret place have disturbed him. He told me that he was considering sending an ultimatum to the Hokage, about setting you free or having the Sand free you by force, but he had not yet put it before the council of Suna – he was still thinking about the exact wording, that would make his councillors support him. I was happy to dispel his worries by telling him that you are not a prisoner but have left the village in time. He just wishes that you would have sought asylum in Suna, he'd have gladly welcomed you, but I explained to him that you're better off wherever you are: Keeping you as a guest and refugee in Suna would only have increased tensions, as Danzou certainly would protest against the kyuubi, Konoha's bijuu, being with Suna now. 

Certainly he would, Naruto thought. Regarding him not as a person, but as a monster.

Tensions are bad enough as they are. Danzou has made clear that he is not interested in alliances with other villages, he has cut down diplomatic relationships and cancelled common projects. Gaara is torn between being offended and answering with confrontations and provocations from his side, as cutting off trade relations and stopping aid for rebuilding Konoha, and trying to keep the relationships as good as possible, given that the Sand has profited a lot from its alliance with the Leaf under Tsunade 

He was able to confide in me after I had examined Temari to check that Shikamaru is really the father of her child. It was one of the most embarrassing examinations I have had to perform since I became a med nin, as I am not Temari's personal trusted doctor but an official whose job it is to distrust what she tells me. Anyway, after the examination I had some seconds of privacy both with her and Gaara, and particularly Gaara hopes that you are doing well and that you will be able to return soon.

Temari and Shikamaru are allowed to marry now, but at a high price: He will have to leave Konoha, quit active service as a ninja and break off all contact.He didn't have any say in it, actually, it were just Homura-san and Koharu-san who negotiated the marriage contract, threatening to call off the wedding more than once if the Sand did not comply to their conditions, and leave Temari and her brothers dishonoured. 

Shikamaru is still under shock. Within a few weeks, his life has changed completely, and there was nothing he could do about it. Partly it's his own fault of course – he might have used condoms.

Naruto thought of the Valentine Kit he had bought a few days ago at the festival. Sakura was not fair, he thought – condoms were much more difficult to obtain in Konoha than in Music Town, and least of all they would display them publicly at a place where little children might see them. He wondered whether they wanted people to get pregnant – well, probably they did, ninjas were short-lived, and one always needed new ones. Also, young people were supposed to train and do missions, not to have sex.

He told me that lately things have become difficult between him and Temari, as she is a fighter by nature, while he, though he is ready to take responsibility for the child, would have preferred to do so by accepting a quiet job in the cryptography department. He's finding the typical fighter's attitude more and more troublesome. Well, now he won't be allowed to fight at all, so this is perhaps some benefit that can be gained from the whole ugly affair.

His parents are both upset, his mother more than his father, who is rather sad than angry. Accepting that there was no choice and that it's really impossible that Shikamaru works as a cryptographer when he is married to a woman from Suna. But his mother got crazy when she heard of the result of the negotiations, and went straight to the Hokage, to tell him that the Nara clan was considering moving to Suna, to be near to Shikamaru. It's not true of course, it was her own spontaneous idea. Danzou told her flatly that any clan who left the village would be considered traitors and deserters, and hunted down and killed. She should consider herself lucky that her son is not executed for literally being in bed with the enemy.

But Suna is not the enemy, Naruto thought. They are our allies and friends. We've helped them out many times, and they've done the same for us.

Well, we are glad that now there is a solution and that the wedding will take place before the child is born. 

Kakashi is doing well. He has been allowed to leave the hospital, but he won't be able to return to his duties as a ninja. Tsunade has asked him to work as a nurse for her, as he is in need of another job now. He was a bit embarrassedd about it, and asked her whether this included washing her. She said: “But you've seen naked women before, haven't you?” and he blushed even more, so she said: “Well, then it's about time”, and both her and me had a good laugh. 

It was our first one for a long time.

He has learnt quickly, actually; Tsunade is very satisfied with his performance. We suspect him of having used his Sharingan. 

Sai sends you his regards. He is still working for Root, and we haven't seen each other since Danzou took over, but now he, too, is part of the delegation that had to negotiate the terms of the marriage between Temari and Shikamaru, acting as bodyguard for the two councillors, and also, as I assume, as a spy against Sand. He has told me that he was sorry for you, fearing that Danzou would turn you into a weapon and rob you of your personality after tearing down the barriers that separate you from the kyuubi. He was overjoyed to hear that you have left the village and hopefully are alive and well. I am not sure whether we can trust him but his joy seemed sincere, and he told me explicitly that he did not want to know the place of your exile. “I cannot tell what I don't know”, he said.

I myself am doing well. There's a lot of work, and in the evenings I am utterly exhausted. I am glad of it, as it keeps me from thinking about all that is going wrong lately. What hurts me most is the way Danzou is wearing out the shinobi who go on missions giving them hardly enough time to recover their strength before they are called back to duty. It runs against everything I have learnt during my apprenticeship with Tsunade, and I hold it irresponsible as they will mess up when they are not one hundred percent healthy. I tried to talk against this policy, but Danzou told me that we cannot give them more time, given the strain we are under now after the destruction of Konoha.. When I pointed out to him that their exhaustion will affect their performance on missions and that I have heard of at least one mission that went wrong because of it, he told me that Shinobi should be able to deal with some lack of sleep, and if they couldn't they should look for some other profession. But of course no one will do this, as they haven't learnt anything else, and they need money, and also, on one wants to be called a weakling who cannot deal with a little tiredness, most of all because everyone sees that there is really a lot to do, with no time to recover and relax. I see it too, but as a doctor, I still think that what Danzou is doing is irresponsible, so I do my best, exaggerating the severity of the illnesses and wounds of my patients, so that they will have at least a few days of recovery more before they are sent again on some mission.

Naruto wondered whether Sakura was taking her own medicine. She sounded as if she were quite exhausted, and he hoped that she was still responsible enough not to wear out herself to a point where she would mess up because of it – or to endanger herself, her life and her health. It came to his mind that Sasuke cared much better for his people's health than Danzou, even allowing them to engage on a quest for a place that did not exist, so that they might find healing.

I hope you are doing well. I am sure that wherever you are, life is better than in Konoha under Danzou. I wish I could have left with you, but there is no danger for my person or my life, so it was not necessary, and I guess that if I stay I can do more to alleviate the situation for those who have to stay too. 

I hope to hear from you soon – send your answer to Gaara, he will give it to me at Temari's and Shikamaru's wedding.

With Love, Sakura.

Naruto put down the letter, He assumed that things were even worse than Sakura made them appear. He longed to be home, to support her, to tell her to leave work when she was overtired, and to join her in improving the situation for the population of Konoha, though he had no idea how to do this. He sat down to reply to her:

Dear Sakura!

I cannot tell how much joy your letter gave me. To hear of you again, and of our friends, and of Kakashi. I am sorry to hear that there is so much going wrong in Konoha these days, however. At least Temari and Shikamaru are allowed to marry now – I just wish that Danzou had not forced Shikamaru to choose between his family and his love.

Life here is going well. I've met the publishers of the Icha-Icha-series; they are friendly people, they've seen that I can rent Jiraiya's former flat, and helped me find a job. So that's all fine, but a place may be the most beautiful of the world and still not give you happiness if you are far from home and far from your friends. I long for the day when Danzou has to quit his post, so that I may return.

With love, Naruto

Thinking of the publishers of the Icha-Icha-series had given him an idea, and he added a post scriptum: 

P.S. There will soon be a special edition of the Icha-Icha-series (with illustrations.) Go and buy them from the bookstore at the place of the Hokage Tower. 

P.P.S. I have met Sasuke. He is passing through the town where I'm staying; he and his team are searching for some legendary Blessed Realm, but I have made them postpone their departure and will try to make them stay even longer.

He sealed the letter, put another, bigger envelope around it, addressed it to Gaara and took it to the post office.


	21. Chapter Eighteen: Looking Back

When Sasuke returned from the ophthalmologist Juugo was not with him: He had again met some kids to play with. So he and Naruto had lunch by themselves at the restaurant: silently, as Naruto was still in thoughts about the letter he had got from Sakura, which he did not want to mention to Sasuke, while Sasuke on his turn did not tell him about his visit to the ophthalmologist. Only when they had some dessert afterwards Naruto was no longer able to hide his curiosity: 

“So how did it go?” he asked. “Are you going to get these contacts?”

He hoped so – if he did, he'd have to stay for longer. 

“The doctor was able to measure my eyes”, Sasuke said. “But having something put into my eyes was just impossible. He suggested that tomorrow you come with me again.”

“Yeah, sure I will”, Naruto answered, trying to sound casual, but inwardly he was delighted: Being near Sasuke, being allowed – even asked! - to help and support him. 

With the years, the dream of finding Sasuke and taking him back to Konoha had become more and more abstract. He had wanted to save Sasuke from being with people who were evil, and thus becoming evil himself, and take him back to Konoha where he could be good again, as a true Shinobi of the Leaf. But he had not known about how they would be friends again: They could not simply take up where they had left at the age of twelve: He, Naruto, had changed since then, and Sasuke had changed too – something he had avoided to admit to himself while he had still been hunting for Sasuke, but now he was ready to acknowledge it, and find out how Sasuke had changed and how they could be friends again – he was looking forward to it. 

“We can visit the botanical garden this afternoon”, he suggested to him. “One of my colleagues told me that it is very beautiful and that we simply have to see it.”

Sasuke had never heard of such a thing as a botanical garden, so Naruto explained to him what little he had understood of his colleague's explanations: “Plants from all over the world.”

To his surprise Sasuke agreed, and so they explored the botanical garden. Naruto got bored pretty quickly, but Sasuke insisted on looking at the tropical greenhouses, admiring the banana trees and the living stones. To Naruto it seemed as if he could not get enough. 

“The world is so big, and I know so little”, he said, and Naruto wanted to answer that it was his own fault, having spent so many years in Orochimaru's lair, but then he remembered that most of what he knew about the world he had learnt during his journeys with Jiraiya, and that their former classmates back in Konoha knew very little too.

Later they had picnic on the lawn. Again there were awkward silences in their conversation when they were in danger of talking of subjects both of them tried to avoid, but if they managed to stick to what was at hand, Naruto felt pretty comfortable, all the more as Sasuke too was making an effort to keep the conversation going, until he suddenly stopped both talking and listening: Finally he had discovered a gay couple. They were having picnic too, at some distance from them, one of them sitting on the blanket they had brought with them, the other was lying with his head in his lover's lap. There was nothing obscene, not even erotic about them, Sasuke told himself, they were not even kissing, just caressing each other's faces and arms and chests (with clothes on), and the two men, both around thirty, were not particularly good-looking either, and still it were such tender gestures and such a beautiful sight that Sasuke just could not turn his eyes. 

It took Naruto a while until he had figured out the cause of Sasuke's sudden silence. He too was moved by the two lovers' gentleness, it hurt his heart, and he looked away.

“I told you, you've got to get used to it”, he said to Sasuke. “Besides, it's considered impolite to stare.”

Indeed the men had grown uneasy, sensing that they were being watched. They sat up and looked back at Sasuke, grinning at him and challenging him.

“Let's leave, or they'll ask you to join”, Naruto said. 

Next to the botanical garden there was the museum for Natural History, which turned out to be much more interesting. They spent some time looking at the gigantic mammals of the ice age, mammoths, cave bears and sabre tooth tigres, but the dinosaur skeletons gave Naruto the creeps, reminding him how he had turned into the kyuubi. Sasuke felt uncomfortable too. 

It was fun to have him with him again, Naruto decided when they had returned to his place. Even work was easier when Sasuke was present, sitting in some corner by himself, browsing the newspapers for articles on Konoha. When he had dreamt of bringing Sasuke back to Konoha he had imagined the triumph, now he felt the happiness. 

The next morning was spent in company again; Naruto accompanied Sasuke to the ophthalmologist. Sasuke managed to survive having the lenses put onto his eyes without panicking; only Naruto had to look away, he could not bear watching how something was put onto Sasuke's eyes. 

Everything was going according to plan, the doctor declared when they had finished. The lenses fitted, the irritations were within the limits of what was normal when one was wearing them for the first time, and he should return the next day for wearing them a bit longer. Also, he should begin to learn putting them in and taking them out as soon as possible, as this would probably be easier than having someone else do it. 

“We have to order them”, the doctor said. “We'll wait for tomorrow, until we are confident that your eyes tolerate them. But from tomorrow, it will be only some ten days until they arrive. If by then you are already able to put them in and take them out yourself, you can just pick them up and continue your journey.”

Naruto swallowed – he had hoped for a longer extension of Sasuke's and his team's stay at his place. The doctor had painfully reminded him that the delay was only for a short time. 

On their way back they picked up the glasses from the optician's store. Naruto insisted on Sasuke putting them on immediately, and not waiting until they were back home, which Sasuke would have preferred. It was a weird feeling – they were heavy on his nose, tight behind his ears, they restricted his field of vision and made everything seem smaller. Also, he kept imagining that everyone was looking at him, thinking him really weird. He was glad that he had Naruto at his side, less glad however he was about the fact that Naruto bought some (rather unhealthy) food at one of the food booths in town, to eat it on one of the benches in Heroes' Park, forcing him to present himself to all the world with glasses, instead of hiding in Naruto's dark apartment.

Annoyed as he was at him, Naruto's presence was a comfort and let him feel less insecure in this strange place, with his new face (with glasses), with his new status (as a person with glasses) and also not being able to fight (as he did not want to break his glasses.) Naruto behaved as if everything was perfectly normal, and slowly Sasuke gained confidence, stopped focussing on his food and began to look around – the lawn was full of people, most of them enjoying their lunch break, sitting around in large groups, eating and drinking, but there were also couples making out – he even managed to spot some gay couples, and again he could not hide his fascination, so that they got aware of him and looked back. He felt embarrassed, both for being caught looking and for his glasses, so he took off his glasses to look around again, but this didn't work either – he did not see clearly without glasses, and he felt more in control when he could see who was looking at him.

Naruto felt irritated. He only saw that Sasuke was absent-minded and nervous, taking off his glasses and putting them on again. It took him some time to notice that people were looking at them, mostly gay couples, though also, to his great relief, some girls, mostly from all-female groups. On any other day he would have been jealous, annoyed that it was Sasuke again who managed to attract all kinds of admiring looks, but not today when Sasuke was wearing glasses for the first time.

“You see, I kept my promise”, he said. “Girls and gay men alike are looking at you, admiring your cuteness.”

Sasuke took off his glasses and looked again at the food. He did not think that he was being admired, he knew all too well that the men looked at him because he had looked at them first. Also, he felt uncomfortable under Naruto's looks.

“You are cute when you are embarrassed, even without glasses”, Naruto said.

Sasuke shook his head. He liked being complimented by Naruto, but he still was not sure whether he liked being cute. He definitely cared about how he looked (much more than Naruto, he thought, who still believed that orange suited him), yet he certainly did not want to look cute, but cool, most of all when he would fight that Danzou. 

Still Naruto's words brought him in touch with a side of himself he had forgotten a long time ago. Seeking for words, he tried to explain it to Naruto: 

“I used to be very cute when I was still a kid”, he began. “A small kid, I mean, Before my family was murdered. I was just as cute and happy and innocent as any other child whose parents are still alive.”

Naruto had few memories of what Sasuke had been like before the Uchiha massacre, and besides, being a small child himself, he had not noticed that other children (or he himself) were cute and innocent. For him Sasuke had been the boy who already knew everything they were supposed to learn during their first year, frustrating everyone else, and who therefore was allowed to keep to himself and practise what he thought necessary to practise. Never would he just relax and play as the other boys did when the teacher had told them that they had succeeded and might do what they wanted.

“I have a picture in my backpack”, Sasuke said. “Back at your place. I can show you when we are back.” 

“I can imagine”, Naruto answered, anxious about what might follow, but also eager to listen.

“Back in Konoha I often looked at it. It shows the whole family, so I took it with me when I left.” The other photos are now lost in the debris of Konoha, he thought. “I always focussed on my parents. I hated looking at my brother, and would have loved to delete him from the picture, or at myself. I hated myself for having been too weak to protect them.”

“But that's ridiculous”, Naruto interrupted him. “You were just six or seven years old then. What could you have done?”

“Yeah, sure, now I know. Back in Konoha I didn't. Then I just hated myself for being weak. Weak and naive and helpless. I swore to myself never to be like this again – I wanted to be like my brother, cool and invincible.”

“And cruel and merciless”, Naruto said. “You really wanted to become like him?” 

One day I will have to tell him that it was all a misunderstanding, Sasuke thought.

“Now I wish that I might have remained cute and naive for longer”, he continued without answering to Naruto.

“I told you, you are still cute”, Naruto said. Not cute but beautiful in his sadness he thought, much softer and gentler than he had been at the age of twelve. He wondered what had caused these changes – killing his brother and completing his revenge, probably. Again, Itachi's warning that Sasuke might attack Konoha appeared in his mind: If Sasuke had changed, as he obviously had, there might also be some changes he could not approve of. They were still far from having renewed their friendship. 

“People liked me back then”, Sasuke continued his tale. “They did not admire and secretly hate me. Itachi was the genius then, I was the cute little child, funny in his attempts to draw level with his brother, but spoilt by everyone. I did not exploit this, though, mostly because I did not care about being cute and spoilt; I wanted to be strong.”

His father had been the only exception, he remembered. Buried in his thoughts of how to protect the clan he had only seen Itachi's strength, but not Sasuke's hopeless efforts to become strong. But he had loved him too, he had learnt, in his own way, even though he had not been good at showing his affection. 

“My brother made fun of me because of my ambition, and my mother told me not to overstrain myself, but they'd also help me become strong. There was nothing wrong with being cute and weak and small then.”

Naruto listened and tried to understand – he had no idea what to say. Sasuke did not seem to mind, he just kept talking. Suddenly however he interrupted himself.

“I am sorry. I did not want to hurt you.”

Naruto was surprised. He had listened, and tried to share Sasuke's sorrow, but he had not been hurt. 

“I forgot that my stories surely must hurt you. I am sorry.”

“No, it's okay, they're sad, but I can bear it.” Naruto's confusion grew.

Sasuke shook his head. “That's not what I meant. I mean, I have at least these memories of my early happy years. You don't even have them.”

Now he had managed to hurt Naruto. 

“Yes. Sure. I cannot understand. I've never had anyone, and so I am not able to understand your feelings.”

“What makes you think so?” Sasuke asked, taken back by Naruto's sudden bitterness.

“You said so yourself. When we fought in the Valley of the End.”

“Did I?” He dimly remembered. He had been crazy with Naruto's attempts to take him back to Konoha, with Naruto's failure to understand his need for revenge, his need to gain power and focus on his most important goal instead of just playing around. 

“I was angry then and wanted to get rid of you. You did not take my words seriously, did you?”

If he only knew what exactly he had said then. Something about bonds, that much he remembered now.

“I did. I wondered whether I would ever be able to persuade you to return to Konoha. I thought I had been able to create a bond with you, but in your eyes it did not count. I was still a monster who had never known true bonds, and never would know them, and who would never understand the suffering that is the consequence of losing true bonds.”

“I did not mean it”, Sasuke said, who finally remembered his exact words and felt ashamed. “That was never what I thought. I always pitied you. I always thought that your sufferings were worse than mine. I, at least, had my memories.”

Three years, almost four, Sasuke's words had haunted him. Three years, almost four, he'd wondered whether he'd ever be able to understand Sasuke and connect to him.

“I was talking rubbish in the Valley of the End. I wanted you to let me go. Maybe I even purposely hurt you. But I did not think you a monster, incapable of forming bonds.”

He saw that Naruto was shaken. He reached out to touch and comfort him in his turn and was glad when Naruto did not withdraw, but he did not respond to the touch either, he just stayed motionless. “I am sorry. I did not intend you to worry about my words for years.”

“No, certainly not”, Naruto replied. “You were intending to kill me.”

Sasuke withdrew – now Naruto had managed to hurt him. It served him right, Naruto thought. Three years, almost four, torturing himself for his incapacity to understand his friend. A tiny part of him had even rejoiced within his despair over Jiraiya's death that now, finally, he would be able to relate to Sasuke, his sorrow and his desire for revenge, and now it had all been for nothing. 

“I am sorry”, Sasuke repeated. “For hurting you with words and deeds.”

“It's okay”, Naruto answered. “Let's go home.”

He began to pack the leftovers of their food, still feeling all odd and wobbly from the reversal of all he had thought that Sasuke thought about him. Had he really just been too foolish to realize that Sasuke had not meant his words in earnest? Was it that simple, or was there not more truth in Sasuke's words than Sasuke would admit at the moment? He would not have pondered them in his heart for several years if they really had just been rubbish. 

“You may tell me”, he said. “So that I will better be able to understand you.”

“I will”, Sasuke answered. “Not now, however.”

 

A/N: Thanks again for your compliments to my last chapter, and for my portrayal of Sakura. I will explore it when the story continues and try to give her some depth. I agree with what you say about Sakura – she is a stranger. I would not like it if she had a crazy history too – I think that there are already too many children without parents in that manga, and that this some kind of annoying cliché. But I would like to meet her parents, and learn something about her parents. I'd like her to have some normal problems, as those of the other rookies, and a personality with some edges. 

kinai26: Thanks for the overall compliments for my story! :blush: 

I am now a few chapters ahead, mainly because my beta will go on holidays in a few days, but it was a strain. I cannot write any longer chapters, or post more than one chapter per week, or I get worn out. Sorry. :-( 

Well, my story is planned, and I won't tell what plans I have about Sasuke and Naruto fighting Danzou. For the canon: This was really a surprise. I would have thought that Danzou's policy was isolation, not a grasp at world domination.


	22. Chapter Nineteen: What about your friend?

They went home, and Sasuke's glasses were admired appropriately by the patron's daughter. “They suit you”, she said. Then she drew them into some smalltalk, asking Sasuke which parts of town he had already seen and what Naruto had shown to him. Sasuke told her about the botanical garden (but not about the gay couple he had observed.) 

“The botanical garden?” she asked back. “But is it not boring? When my younger cousins come for a visit I always make sure to show them something exciting, as the empty coal mines in the old industrial parts of town. My cousins are a bit younger than you, but I can imagine that you will like them too.”

So after listening to her directions they set out for the mines and participated in a guided tour. Naruto found them quite interesting, but Sasuke, who was not very talkative to begin with, fell more and more silent when they were enclosed by the darkness underground, illuminated only by the lamps on their helmets. 

“I have seen enough subterranean mazes to last me for a lifetime”, he told Naruto when they were safely back in the sunlight. “And I have spent more time in insufficiently illuminated rooms where I could not even read than I have ever dreamt of. I still hear the cries of Orochimaru's test subjects who were held prisoners in the deepest layers of his lair, angry and passionate when they had just been captured, but with time getting more and more silent and rather crying than shouting, and then going crazy in despair and horror, tearing one's heart apart, when they were finally dragged to Kabuto's laboratories to be first mutilated and terribly transformed and then killed. I'm glad I left it behind me – I don't want to see any of it again. - And in these mines, people too have died. Our guide mentioned it, and never got back to it, as if she did not care, but people have died here on a regular basis, despairing when they were cut off from daylight and fresh air.”

Naruto had completely missed this point of their guided tour. He wanted to tell Sasuke that it had been his own choice, but the horror and the compassion in Sasuke's voice forbade it. So when they returned, and the patron's daughter asked them how they had liked the mines, Naruto told her that they had been a bit too creepy for their taste. 

She shrugged: “Maybe the toy museum will be more to your liking.”

They decided to give it a chance the next afternoon. Naruto set to work, and Sasuke again turned to the newspapers to search for articles on Konoha. He found one: The Hokage had cancelled a joint manoeuvre practice of the Sand and the Leaf that had been agreed upon when Tsunade had still been in office, under the pretext that with Konoha still busy rebuilding the village there were other priorities. 

The glasses still felt weird, and he was glad that after the patron's daughter had left them, the restaurant was empty except for Naruto and himself. It had been bad enough that in the park and later in the mine he had felt as if everybody was staring at him – even though in the mine it had been too dark for it. Only seeing clearly was not bad at all, and he didn't even have to get used to it. Still there was something he had to try: 

“What's the most difficult of all the tasks you have to do here?” he asked. 

Naruto shrugged. “Drawing beer”, he said. 

“Show me!”

Naruto did as told, even though he had no idea what Sasuke was up to. When he began to explain his actions Sasuke interrupted him. “Just show – don't tell!” 

Naruts irritation grew when he saw Sasuke's Sharingan. “You're cheating” he exclaimed. “This is not fair!”

“It's the point”, Sasuke replied, and Naruto had to admit, though only to himself, that he had been a bit foolish. 

Sasuke was pleased with the results of his experiment: With the glasses, the chakra around Naruto and within him appeared much clearer, just as physical objects did.

“Now let me try”, he told Naruto, and drew another beer, just in time for the first guest. He spent the rest of the evening helping Naruto, which was okay, as it was a weekday and there was not much business anyway, just the regulars, so there was not much opportunity to mess up. After some time (and some compliments from the female regulars) he felt less insecure about his glasses, and even let the customers engage him in some smalltalk. He was not good at it, but he discovered that with most guests it sufficed to say “yeah, sure” every five minutes to make them go on talking. (He did not even have to listen.) 

Reading newspapers, he realized, had become boring, all the more as he had realized that they did not give him the information he needed if he wanted to meet that Danzou when he was on his own, so that he'd kill no one else. He'd need some information from inside, maybe he could send Karin or Juugo into the village, as they would not draw any suspicion on themselves, but they would not get close to the Hokage. It would be best to have someone from the Hokage's entourage to help him, yet who might that be? He did not expect even Naruto to personally know anyone close to Danzou. 

The next morning brought a surprise: Suigetsu asked him for money. 

“I need to buy drums, and percussion instruments”, he said. “There's a jam session this evening in one of the neighbouring pubs. Everyone can bring their instrument, and then they play some rock or jazz.”

Sasuke was surprised. 

“Everyone can join?” 

“That's what they told me.”

“Even if they can't play?”

“I can play. Maybe I've got a bit rusty, but it will soon wear off, I am sure.”

Suigetsu had unexpected talents, Sasuke realized. “So you play both rock and jazz?” he asked.

“Only rock”, Suigetsu answered. “But without instruments I cannot play.” 

Grudgingly Sasuke gave him the money he needed for drums and equipment. It was quite a lot. 

His days had gained a certain rhythm now. In the morning he would go with Naruto practising putting contacts into his eyes and taking them out again (he was getting better at it), and in the afternoon they would do some sightseeing – this time the toy museum the patron's daughter had recommended to them. There was an exhibition “toys and war” with toy weapons from the last hundred years: In the first room, there were tiny, rather crude daggers, swords and shields from the time before the foundation of the village, when because of the then prevalent civil war families had been too poor to buy toys so that they carved them from wood for their toddlers, while the older children were supposed not to play but to help out with the daily work or train their fighting skills. During the time of the Hidden Village of Music toy weapons had become more sophisticated. Still they were mainly aimed at children younger than seven, to make them appreciate fighting skills and raise their eagerness to join the academy and become ninjas. There were also miniature castles with small figures of ninjas to besiege and defend them, with the most detailed figures resembling famous ninjas of the village, encouraging little children to take them as role models and re-enact famous battles between the village and its opponents. 

After the demilitarization of the village there had been a demilitarization of children's rooms too, as war most now abhorred and people thought that they might raise children as pacifists if they just kept them from any contact with anything that even remotely reminded them of fighting or war. Only within the last decade this had changed again, as people had found out that their strategy did not work out and that kids kept begging for toy weapons. The new strategy was to see that weapons were rather fantastic and did not resemble any weapons that identifiably belonged to a certain country.

Both Sasuke and Naruto felt uncomfortable. What was distant past to the locals had been reality to them, and worse, even though Sasuke had left his katana on Naruto's wardrobe, they felt as if they were part of the exhibition, presented to the amusement of the locals who thought of them as some weird people come to visit them from their past. They agreed that the exhibition was boring as it didn't show anything they didn't know before they had even reached the last room of the exhibition that might have been most interesting to them, the one that showed toy weapons as they were fashionable in Music Town now. 

In the evening, Naruto again had to work, while Sasuke decided to accompany Suigetsu to that musical event they had been talking about (jam session or whatever it was called), mostly in order to prevent him from getting drunk again. Suigetsu did not mind, he suggested that Sasuke might push him around in his wheelchair in case this became necessary. They ended up using the wheelchair to transport Suigetsu's musical equipment, and Sasuke wondered how they might divide all this stuff between Juugo and himself once they continued their journey, considering that they had to carry Suigetsu himself too when he got tired.

They arrived early, allowing Suigetsu to find himself a good spot and enough space to put up his his drums and percussion, then Suigetsu socialized with the other musicians (apparently he had already been acquainted with some of them.) People also attempted to draw Sasuke into some conversation, but most of their attempts ended after a few lines: 

“So which instrument do you play?”

“None. I just came to accompany my friend.”

“But you like to listen to music, don't you?”

“It depends on the music.”

“So which is your favourite band?” 

At this question Sasuke would shrug, making the person who had been talking to him realize that he was indeed a hopeless case. 

More musicians had arrived, they took some time to discuss which song they wanted to begin with (it had to be well-known and not too difficult), then Suigetsu sought eye contact with the other drummer, they began to play and after some seconds the other musicians fell in. Three times they interrupted themselves as they had lost the rhythm (Sasuke would not have noticed it), then they were content and turned to another song. By and by other musicians arrived, but Sasuke remained the only one who just listened. Suigetsu was popular and got quite a lot of recognition for his performance, and even Sasuke could see (rather than hear) that he was more sophisticated than the other drummers, his hands moving so quickly between his various instruments that Sasuke had to activate his Sharingan to follow their movements.

After some ninety minutes of playing Suigetsu had collected three offers from semi-professional bands to join them, and decided to take down his equipment. “It's too full now”, he explained. “It's no longer fun with all the beginners who have just arrived. Anyway, they will soon begin to play jazz, which I don't know anything about.”

They moved to the front foom of the pub – the jam session was taking place in the back room. The whole pub was situated in the basement of one of the old houses in the center of town, with huge pillars of stone supporting heavy vaults, that in their turn sustained the weight of the upper stories. It made sense to host musical events in such a place, Sasuke thought, as like this no one would be bothered by the noise. 

Suigetsu had found them a heavy wooden table in one of the niches between two barrels carrying a low (but vaulty) ceiling, so that they had some privacy to discuss some urgent matters that had been on his mind, as Suigetsu declared, for quite some time now.

“It's about your friend”, he began.

“Naruto?” Sasuke wondered what should be the matter with them. During the last days they had been closer than Sasuke had been with his team.

“He's okay, isn't he?”, Suigetsu continued.

“Sure he is. He is my friend.” Sasuke felt irritated, having no idea where Suigetsu was getting at. 

“What are your plans with him?”

Sasuke felt caught. Had he been too careless, allowing Naruto to get too close to him, even to touch his hands and shoulders and embracing him?

“You don't intend to include him in your revenge, do you?”

Sasuke was relieved – Suigetsu was on a completely different track than he had thought. 

“No, certainly not.”

“So what are your plans?”

“Maybe Karin can divert him.” It was an idea of the moment, and, coming to think of it, not one he was particularly fond of. “Or he'll just stay here while we take revenge against the rest of Konoha.”

“And when we meet him again, after dealing out revenge against Konoha?” 

Sasuke had not thought about this question, as he had not planned to survive his revenge. But his team would, hopefully, and then they somehow would have to deal with Naruto.

“Tell him it was not about him. He has nothing to do with the murder of my family, or with ruining Itachi's life, or discriminating against my people and segregating them.”

“Just as Itachi's strike against your clan was not about you as you had nothing to do with the coup d'etat they were planning. - He probably still has friends and family in Konoha.”

“Friends”, Sasuke said. “He never had any family.”

Naruto cared about Konoha, he reminded himself, even though he had to leave it. His behaviour when he saw pictures clearly showed it.

“I'll do the fighting”, he said. “You will just assist me gathering intelligence. It won't be your responsibility. He won't take revenge against you, and I am ready to suffer for the consequences of what I will do.”

He had not told his team that he planned not to return from his revenge, and he did not intend to tell them. The darkest, ugliest parts of his revenge were his business and his alone – he didn't want anyone else to get involved with them. Even keep his own team out of them.

Suigetsu simply raised his brows and Sasuke knew that it wouldn't work. Naruto would not believe that his team had nothing to do with his revenge, as little as he thought that the population of Konoha had nothing to do with the discrimination against his clan. 

His impression was that Naruto and his team got along well. He did not want them to become enemies. He did not want Naruto to become like himself, taking revenge for Konoha. He wanted him to remain as he was.

“Anyway, destroying all of Konoha is only our last resort”, he continued without much passion. “Our priority is killing the Hokage. Only if this proves to be impossible we will obliterate the whole village.”

“Thanks for the update on your plans”, Suigetsu answered, giving Sasuke a bad conscience again. “Any ideas yet how to achieve this aim?”

Sasuke hesitated. He had a lot of plans and ideas, but he knew that they were all rather half-baked. “Somehow make Naruto take me to the Hokage, but without binding or blindfolding me. Take me to the Hokage when he is together with his cronies, the two councillors, so that I can kill all three of them at once. Juugo or Karin can find out about this or even better, we should try to get help from someone within Konoha, perhaps even the Hokage's own entourage. Naruto might help us with this. He's bound to have some friends in Konoha whom he might contact.”

“So we are going to take him with us? Because a few minutes ago you suggested that he'd stay here, while we strike against Konoha.”

Sasuke thought about it. Taking Naruto with them would make it easier to kill Danzou and the Elders, but no one else. On the other hand, if this turned out impossible, so that he'd have to destroy Konoha as a whole, it would be better to keep Naruto as far away as possible. In the end, considerations of another kind brought the decision. 

“We are taking him with us. He's not safe while he's here. He's the kyuubi's jinchuuriki, and Akatsuki's after him.”

“So we will defend him against Akatsuki when they come for him? You're asking a lot of us.”

“It won't be a problem. I can control the kyuubi. Besides, he is my friend.”

“So what do you suggest? Shall we fight him and bind him and abduct him as we did with the Hachibi's jinchuuriki?”

“No. We'll just invite him. The most difficult point will be to persuade him that he might need protection. He can be very stupid about this.”

“Well, he's your friend, isn't he?” Suigetsu said. “You are bound to have some things in common, if you are friends. Are you going to inform him of your plans for revenge?”

So far Sasuke had thought that he wouldn't: “If he doesn't know, no one can blame him. He won't get punished and he can still become Hokage.”

“So that's your dream?”

“Yes.”

“He will pretend having captured you, but accidentally he has forgotten to bind and blindfold you, he insists on presenting you to the Hokage, then, when you begin to fight Danzou, he won't intervene, and still they will believe that he had nothing to do with your revenge. 

“But he will intervene: When Danzou is dead, he will kill me. He'll be a hero and people will make him Hokage.”

“Oh, will he”, Suigetsu said. “So again, let me summarize your plan: Naruto, who is a refugee, returns to Konoha even though he is still in danger of being shut away, takes you to the Hokage, allows you to kill the Hokage without intervening and only kills you when you have succeeded – and then people celebrate him for killing you and thus avenging the Hokage and make him the new Hokage. Won't they think that it was all a plan of Naruto to become Hokage?”

He shouldn't have told his plans to Suigetsu while they were still as half-baked as they were, Sasuke thought. 

“I think that you should inform him of your plans. Otherwise he might decide to protect the Hokage and kill you before you have killed him. Or he will decide not to kill you at all.”

The former was no problem, Sasuke thought, as Naruto would not be able to kill him before he wanted to be killed, but the latter was. Why did Suigetsu have to make things comlpicated?

“But we have observed that informing us of your true intentions is not part of your policy either.”

It was not like this, Sasuke thought. It was just that he didn't want to burden his team with the horrible decisions he had to make. On the other hand, Suigetsu had a point. Not telling Naruto about his plans was just too risky. He'd tell him about his intentions to kill Danzou, but not about destroying the village if the former plan failed. He'd have to choose his words carefully if Naruto should consent even to killing Danzou. Wait until they were already approaching Konoha, and at the moment only invite him to join them. He'd talk to him about it when they returned to Naruto's place. 

The waitress came to ask them whether they wanted some more beer, but Sasuke declined to Suigetsu's disappointment. Better leave, they did not need another day at the hospital with Suigetsu suffering from alcohol intoxication. They went home. 

A/N: I have realized that in canon, Danzou is much more evil than in my story. I'd never have thought it – I have always hated him and tried to make him look not too badly in this story.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three: Planning Revenge

After standing silently side by side with Naruto for several minutes, Sasuke's mind turned again to more practical questions. 

“Have you thought about your promise?” he asked. “Do you have any idea how you will keep it?”

“I haven't thought about it yet”, Naruto answered. “Work was very busy yesterday.”

It was not entirely true. He had thought about what he had heard, but not about how to turn Danzou out of office. He did not know why Sasuke's story had made him come to this resolution, while Sai's and Nagato's had not – maybe because Sasuke was closer to him than Sai or Nagato. No, he decided. Murdering a whole clan of one's own village was definitely worse than what Danzou had done to the other two. Konoha was ruled by a murderer, and could not remain so. 

“Do you have any ideas?” he asked Sasuke in his turn. 

“Sure”, Sasuke answered. “My plans are not perfect yet, and I will have to change them, now that you are helping me, but I have a lot of ideas.”

“Will you tell me about them?”

Sasuke hesitated. Telling Suigetsu about his plans had been bad enough, telling Naruto would be even worse. “We'd somehow have to get into the Hokage tower”, he began. “I'll send my team to do some spying. It would be too dangerous for myself, but Juugo or Karin won't rouse any suspicion. Maybe your friends in Konoha can help as well. Our aim will be to find out about Danzou's habits, so that we can attack him when he's on his own, or, even better, when he's together with those two Elders. I only want to take revenge against them, no one else.”

Naruto raised his brows, and Sasuke realized that he should not have said this: Naruto didn't have to know that he had ever considered killing not only Danzou and the Elders, but everyone, and then burning down the entire village. It was obvious that Naruto would never consent to this (and of course he had to become Hokage of something when Sasuke's revenge was completed.) 

“There won't be any moment when Danzou is on his own”, Naruto answered. “He's the Hokage, heavily guarded at every second of the day, and also during the night.”

“That's where I'll need your help. You aren't a rogue-nin, at least not officially. Officially you are hidden away at some secret place in Konoha. People will wonder when they see you, but they won't take you prisoner. You will tell them some story: that you've been sent by the Hokage himself on a secret mission to retrieve me, and that he had to cover up for it by telling that you were safe at that hidden place – the other villages did not have to know that Konoha's jinchuuriki had left and could not defend his village. I'll act as your prisoner. You may even blindfold me, only the fetters should be fake so that I can easily shake them off. You'll tell people that you have to take me directly to the Hokage.”

“Sakura won't allow for it.”

“You'd have to explain it to her.”

“Still the guards won't let me in. They won't be any random shinobi, but the Root ANBU who are closest to Danzou. They'll wonder why they've never heard of this mission to find you and they know that I'm your friend.”

“Maybe my replacement, what was he called again, can help us. He is a member of Root, isn't he?”

“Your plan includes a lot of help from me and my friends. What will remain for you?”

“Killing Danzou of course.”

“So we will have to do the tricky and dangerous parts, so that you can finally slay an old man. What honour is in that?” 

Sasuke was silent – killing Itachi would have been a proof of his strength, and a proof that he had been able to gain this strength without acquiring the Magekyou Sharingan. Now he had obtained it without even wanting it, and gained immeasurable power, while Danzou, unlike Itachi, was really just an old man.

“Old or not, he is responsible for the murder of my family”, he said.

“But can you really do it? Strike down an old man, unable to defend himself?”

Sasuke had seen pictures of Danzou. He had seen the harsh lines on his face, making him appear as if he had never smiled, he had seen the cruelty in his single eye, and he had not felt any pity at all, just the wish to wipe him off the earth. 

“I was only seven at the time of the massacre”, he said. “Unable to defend myself. And still if things had gone according to to his plans, I would have been killed too.”

“Still”, Naruto said. “You don't want to be like them, do you?”

The day before, when Sasuke had told him how they had planned to kill him, Naruto had burnt with hatred and anger, and with all his heart he had desired to make Danzou pay for what he had done. Today, however, the thought of killing an old man scared him. Only if he called before his inner eye again how Danzou had cold-bloodedly ordered the murder of a whole clan, he froze with disgust, he wished that Danzou had never existed, and his heart grew hard.

I must not give in to it, he thought, remembering Nagato. For some seconds he hesitated, then he decided to tell Sasuke about him.

“When I saw the debris that had once been Konoha I did not feel anything but hatred. Well, not at the beginning when I was confident of my newly-gained power. Then I just thought of defending the survivors and fighting off the aggressor so that he could do no further harm. But when my jutsus were not strong enough to defeat him, I grew desperate, and my hatred became like a flame, eating me up from inside, until I turned into the kyuubi.”

Sasuke nodded. Naruto's images were not the ones he would have used, but the mechanisms of hatred and despair transforming into the desire for revenge were all too familiar to him. 

“But when I stood before the aggressor, I refrained from killing him and talked to him instead and learnt how he, too, had been used and betrayed.”

“It would not have worked with Itachi”, Sasuke said. “He wanted me to kill him. He wanted to preserve his secret of how he had been ordered to murder the clan by the top echelon of Konoha, rather than have me forgive him and turn against the village.”

Naruto had no idea what to make of this remark. He waited for further explanations, but when there didn't follow any, he continued, taking up Sasuke's remark without understanding it:

“Itachi was used, Nagato was used – maybe Danzou is being used too.”

“Danzou?” Sasuke asked, taken back by the suggestion. “Who would use him?” 

The Akatsuki with the mask, who is behind everything, Naruto thought. But maybe he is being used too, and was turned bitter by some betrayal that happened in his youth.

“And where does it end?” Sasuke continued. “The one who used Danzo was used by someone else, and that one by someone else again, until we get back to the days when Amaterasu herself still walked the earth.”

The chain of hatred, Naruto thought, starting in the dawn of time.

“And who will be held responsible for the murder of my family then? We cannot travel back in time and punish those who started it back then. Stick to your promise!”

For the first time in his life Naruto would have loved to step down from a promise he had made. He must have been all emotions yesterday, he thought, not able to think properly.

“And what will happen then?” he asked, trying another way of dissuading Sasuke from his plans. “He is the Hokage of Konoha. All involved in killing him will get executed for treason, murder, conspiracy and an attempted coup d'etat.”

“I'll take it upon me. You've been used by me, after I tricked and manipulated you. Tell them I have caught you in a genjutsu, if nothing else works.”

His original plan had been that Naruto should kill him (after he had taken down Danzou) so that he would be appointed Hokage for this heroic deed. Suigetsu had suggested that he should talk to Naruto about this part of the plan, lest he would try to kill Sasuke before he had killed Danzou, or refuse to kill him at all, but Sasuke could not bring himself to tell this Naruto.

“Besides when you are Hokage, you can grant mercy to all the helpers and have only me executed. It will be up to you.”

Suggesting to Naruto to have him executed seemed more acceptable than that he should kill him with his own hands. Naruto thought differently, of course.

“How should they make me Hokage after I participated in a conspiracy to murder the previous Hokage? And how shall I have you executed?” 

“Someone will have to pay the price for killing Danzou. I am willing to pay.”

“No way”, Naruto said. “Your plan is rubbish. Talk to me again when you have found one that does not include your death.”

There is no such plan, Sasuke thought. Not when Danzou is Hokage and all of Konoha will stand up for him. But I have to stand up for my family, avenge them and die for them.

Naruto, when there was no answer from Sasuke, opened his hand (the one that was not lying on Sasuke's shoulder) in a gesture that invited Sasuke's family on the photo to join their conversation. 

“Your parents would not approve if I have you executed”, he said. “I have promised you yesterday, and I will promise you again: Danzou will have to pay for his crimes, I will become Hokage, you will return to Konoha as a hero of the Leaf, as you deserve, and have a bunch of kids who are just as cute as you once were.”

Sasuke was silent. Refounding his clan was not really what had been on his mind these days.

“That's what your parents would want for you, I am sure”, Naruto continued. (It was what he hoped that his own parents would have wanted for him, at least.) “Did you not tell me that your happiness would have been your mother's first priority?”

“When did I say this?”

“After the play we saw last week. At the festival.”

Sasuke remembered. He should be more careful with what he said. “She loved me, but I love her too”, he replied. “I cannot leave her unavenged.”

Naruto shook his head. “But not by getting killed yourself. We'll find our own way to make Danzou pay. Just have faith in me.”

Sasuke gave up. He should not have listened to Suigetsu when he had told him to inform Naruto about his plans. Now that the damage was done it was impossible to return to his original intention of returning to Konoha without Naruto and burning it down with his Amaterasu while Naruto was safe in Music Town. 

“So we have a deal”, Naruto said. “I help you get your revenge, and you don't set out on your own to do something stupid.”

“I guess so”, Sasuke answered. 

Naruto was very pleased with himself. Sasuke would stay. He would no longer have to worry about his departure, and hope from day to day that it would be postponed again. 

“What about your team?” he asked, suddenly remembering their quest. “They are still looking for that place that does not exist, so that they can find healing for their wounds.”

“You may join us”, Sasuke answered, surprised how easy inviting Naruto suddenly had become. “I have already discussed the matter with Suigetsu, and I am certain that Karin and Juugo would be happy to have you with us too.”

Naruto hesitated. The invitation came unexpected, yet he felt the warmth Sasuke had put into it, and his heart opened to him. He would not be separated from him again, he thought – on the other hand he liked Music Town, even though he had felt rather lonely there before Sasuke's arrival, and also Sakura's letter would not reach him in the wilderness. 

“You don't have to decide now”, Sasuke said. “We'll stay for some more weeks, as Karin is having her bitemarks removed, and who knows what will happen then. They don't seem very eager to take up their quest.”

He wasn't eager either and even considered staying without his team if Naruto refused to leave. Here he had access to newspapers, telling him about the current situation of Konoha. 

All the time Naruto had been leaning against him, with their arms lying around each other's shoulders, but now that there was nothing more to discuss, Sasuke's awareness of Naruto's physical closeness intensified. Naruto's hair was tickling his cheek – he liked it, and he was tempted to caress his shoulders, but he did not dare, lest he betrayed himself. There were other advantages to this place than just newspapers, he realized, and he might make use of his time while he was stuck here, waiting for Naruto to come up with a plan to get their revenge. Maybe he was lucky. 

“Do you really think that it is possible to be in love and not know about it?” he asked, remembering that Naruto had seemed to believe in this idea just as well as Karin.

“Why?” Naruto asked back, surprised by the sudden change of subject. “Have you come to the conclusion that you might be in love with Sakura after all?” 

“No, definitely not” Sasuke replied, almost physically hurt by Naruto's question. It took him some seconds to calm down and overcome his disappointment.

“What about you?” he asked. “You've always been in love with her, haven't you? Why do you try to press her on me? Have you ceased to like her?”

Naruto hesitated with an answer. “I am not sure. I've been in love with her, but she always loved you, and me she only saw as a good friend. Besides, if I get together with her, you will be left out, but I could be happy for the two of you if you'd marry and have a lot of kids I can babysit.”

He was leaning heavily against Sasuke, and his voice betrayed his sadness in spite of his claim that he could be happy for his friends' sake. Sasuke wanted to comfort him, but again he did not dare - he would take his time. For the moment he was content with what he had heard: Obviously it was possible to be very confused about whether one was in love or not. 

“We'll return to Konoha together and make this Danzou pay”, he said. 

A/N: It's a weird coincidence that I released these chapters just when we get Naruto's reaction to the story of the Uchiha massacre in the canon. My own chapters were written some weeks ago, however.


	24. Chapter Twenty-One: Danzou again

Naruto was rather glad that Karin had found a place of her own. His offer to Sasuke and his team to remain his guests as long as they wanted came from his heart, but he had to admit that having a female living with them had made daily life complicated. Sasuke and Karin herself had been ridiculously coy, taking care that the other would not even see them in their underwear, but Naruto too longed to be able again to walk naked from the shower to the main room, or not to care to hide his morning erection. 

Together with Juugo and Suigetsu he helped Karin move to her new apartment, while Sasuke had gone to the ophthalmologist again to practise putting in the contacts and taking them out again. It would be for the last time – Naruto was glad that with Karin's new job and the removal of her bitemarks, Sasuke's and his team's departure had been postponed again. He did not want to think about the time when Karin had finished her job and recovered from the removal of the scars. 

Helping Karin was not really necessary as her possessions consisted only of what she had carried around in her backpack during her journeys with Sasuke, and she could well have carried it all on her own. The men of her team, however, liked to use helping her as a pretext to see her new flat, to test her coffee-machine that came with the apartment (passed down to Karin from the former inhabitant) and to sit on her sofa (Naruto did not own one.) 

Suigetsu, who had not carried anything, but had drunk a lot of coffee, got rather sentimental when it was time to leave.

„Come and visit us occasionally“, he said. „We'll come over for a cup of coffee too.“

„Don't forget: You are still a member of the team“, Juugo added.

Naruto embraced her too, as Suigetsu and Juugo had done, not knowing what to say. He liked Karin, even though she was a bit weird and even though he definitely disapproved of her aim of gaining Sasuke's love, yet he had only known her for a week. 

„Good luck with having your scars removed“, he said. „I am sure you will be very pretty afterwards.“

Back home he tidied up, and then waited for Sasuke to return. He had picked up the magazine with the events in town from downstairs, looking for something they might do together this afternoon – something harmless, as the children's zoo with young animals to feed and caress, or an guided tour into the woods with some explanations on local herbs and trees, but Sasuke, when he arrived, would not agree to any of this. He had been to the restaurant before he went upstairs to Naruto's place, had asked for this week's newspapers and a pair of scissors and was now sitting at Naruto's table and cutting out all the articles on Konoha he could find. 

„Tomorrow we can do some more touristy stuff“, he said. „Today I want to stay at home.“

Actually he had had a walk around town by himself before he had returned to Naruto's place, not visiting the touristy places but just having a look at shops and cafes and what else there was for the benefit of the locals, not the visitors.

Naruto remained on his bed, idly perusing the magazine to gain more ideas what they might do (maybe going to the movies or some concert), and Sasuke returned to his self-assigned task of looking for articles, but he could still sense Naruto in his back, sulking and being bored and feeling offended. It was getting on his nerves, and after some time he could no longer bear it, so he turned around his chair. 

„Don't you have anything to do by yourself? How did you survive here before we came? What did you do then on a free afternoon?“ Naruto did not answer, and Sasuke continued: „Lie on your bed and dream of Konoha, was it?“ 

He regretted immediately what he had said when he saw how his words had hurt Naruto – because they had been quite close to the truth. (The other half of the truth was that Naruto had also dreamt of retrieving Sasuke, but he'd never admit this.) 

„What about you?“ he asked Sasuke. „Travelling around aimlessly, searching for a place that does not exist. Itachi is dead, your revenge is completed. You might return to Konoha, instead of wasting your time on a pointless quest.“

„Why should I return to Konoha, when you are here?“ 

The answer left Naruto speechless for several seconds. Indeed, it might be safer if Sasuke did not return to Konoha – again, Itachi's warning came to his mind. As long as he was here with him, Sasuke could not attack Konoha – not to speak of the fact that Naruto really enjoyed having him with him, though not at this particular moment when they were provoking each other.

„It's still your home“, he said. „You have friends there who care for you.“ (Sakura, he thought.) „They'd be happy about your return.“ 

Sasuke shook his head. „I am a rogue-nin, a deserter. They'll try to arrest or even kill me as soon as I arrive at their gates.“

„Not necessarily. You've defeated Orochimaru, after all, and killed Itachi. They might welcome you as a hero.“

He's naive, Sasuke thought. Even with the information from the newspapers it should be clear that Danzou would not welcome anyone as a hero. 

„So why are you here? Why weren't you celebrated as a hero?“ he asked.

„I was. It is just – I still have the kyuubi within me, and the seal almost broke when I fought for Konoha. It's different for me.“ 

„It's not. I've become too dangerous too, and I've already proven that I'm uncontrollable. Besides, I didn't kill Itachi.“

„But you told me he's dead, didn't you?“ 

„He is, but I did not kill him. He broke down by himself, from some illness that was the effect of the Mangekyou Sharingan. I only may have hastened his decline, making him exhaust his chakra reserves while he was ill.“

It occured to Sasuke that he might die from the same illness, now that he too had the Mangekyou Sharingan. He shrugged off the thought: He'd die before this could happen, during his revenge against this Danzou.

„So this means that you won't ever be able to complete your revenge“, Naruto said. „Or are you glad that Itachi's death from an illness spared you from killing your own brother?“

Suddenly he enjoyed hurting and provoking Sasuke in his turn. He was now sitting upright on his bed, so that he was on eye level with Sasuke, who was still sitting on his chair.

„I am glad that I did not kill him“, Sasuke answered calmly. „And I wish that he were still alive.“

Naruto stared at him – he still remembered how Sasuke had named „killing a certain guy“ as the most important aim of his life, and how later he had found out that this certain guy actually had been Itachi, Sasuke's brother. Taking revenge against him had been Sasuke's central purpose in life, his guide in all his decisions, his reason to train as hard as he could, his reason to leave Konoha – what had happened that suddenly he wished that Itachi was still alive? „Did you find out that he did not kill your clan?“

„He did, but it was not his fault“, Sasuke said. „He did it on order of the top echelon of the Leaf. All top secret of course.“

Naruto was as shocked as Sasuke had been when he had first heard it.

„You don't mean that, do you?“ 

„I do.“

„Who gave you this idea?“ 

The previous night, Sasuke had spent quite some time pondering how he might convince Naruto to support him in his plans, but his thoughts had centered around the question on how he would persuade Naruto to agree to his revenge, considering that in spite of everything he was still loyal to Konoha. He had forgotten that he also had to convince him that his story, gained from an admittedly not very reliable source, was actually true.

„The Akatsuki with the mask told me. If you have ever happened to meet him.“

„I have. He's the true leader of Akatsuki, guiding it from the shadows, using the others as a puppeteer uses his puppets, even Pain or Nagato, whom we all thought to be the head of the organization. You don't trust him, do you?“

Sasuke shrugged. „I don't. But this does not necessarily mean that what he said was wrong.“ Doubt crept into his heart again. He tried to push it aside, to remember what in the end had made him believe Madara.

„Itachi loved me. He loved me to his end. He rather wanted me to hate him, for my own safety, and for my peace of mind, than to follow him into exile and try to persuade him to turn against those who gave this order, which I would have invariably done if I had known the truth. Itachi loved me. He was the most wonderful older brother one can think of. He played with me, he cared for me, he taught me ninjutsu, he told me of the history of the clan, he covered up for me when I wanted to do something I was still too young for, he spoke up to my father in my behalf. He loved me, but then he got accepted into ANBU and everything turned to the worse. He no longer had time for me, he got into trouble with my parents, which had never happened before – he had always been my father's favourite – and was suspected of having killed his friend.“ He paused. „I guess that the latter was true. He had to do it to obtain his Mangekyou Sharingan. It was not his fault – it was the fault of those who ordered him to do it.“

He no longer talked to persuade Naruto, he just talked for the sake of talking, because his heart was full and flew over. „He loved me to the very end. Even when he fought me, he did not fight in earnest. He wanted me to defeat him. He couldn't show that he loved me until the last moments of his life.“

For a minute, Naruto was silent, not knowing how to react to this story. He still had his doubts, but it was obvious how much Sasuke wanted to believe that Itachi loved him. Sasuke was lost in his sorrow for his brother and his pain about how he had been betrayed, and he could not even use his fantasies of revenge to ease his pain.

„I spoke to him“, Naruto finally said, to Sasuke's surprise. „It must have been a short time before his death. He asked me why I went to such lengths for your sake. I told him that I cared for you more than he ever had.“

Sasuke smiled a little, and Naruto continued. 

„Then he asked me whether I was ready to kill you if this was necessary to protect Konoha.“

„And what was your answer?“ 

„That I would find a way to protect Konoha without killing you. Itachi seemed to like this.“

It was an answer typical for Naruto, Sasuke thought, not ready to admit that there were situations in life when you simply had to choose. Still Naruto's words had given him comfort: Naruto, whom he trusted (more than Madara anyway) had confirmed that Itachi had cared for him, even near the end of his life.

„He knew that he was going to die and could no longer care for me“, he said.

Naruto suddenly was distracted. For a few days now he had wondered about Itachi's warning that Sasuke might attack Konoha. It had not made sense, but it did now, with the information that Itachi had killed his clan on orders of the Leaf. But did this mean that Sasuke's story was true? Was it not possible that Itachi had known that the Akatsuki with the mask (Naruto remembered now how he had used his space-time-jutsu to be first at the site of Itachi's and Sasuke's fight) would tell this story to Sasuke, even though it was a lie? 

But Itachi had sounded as if he cared for Konoha, and cared for Sasuke. Slowly Naruto began to believe that maybe he was not simply the maniac and criminal he had always thought him to be. 

„He was not evil, as I had believed“, Sasuke continued as if he had heard Naruto's thoughts. „It was not his true self. His true self was what he had been before he had joined ANBU, when he was still proud of the clan, proud that we, as the strongest clan of all, had been assigned the military police of Konoha. We both dreamt of becoming policemen then. It was only in ANBU that they turned him around, telling him that the clan was planning a rebellion and that he had to kill them in order to prevent a bloodbath, and then perhaps another ninja world war.“

Just as Nagato had wanted to prevent a war by killing millions of people with that forbidden technique created with the bijuu, Naruto thought.

„Itachi has been deceived“, he said. „You don't prevent a bloodbath by killing dozens of people. The peace that he tried to create was nothing but a lie.“

He reached out to Sasuke to comfort him, and as Sasuke was too far away he got up and sat down on the edge of the chair. Sasuke made room for him, still it felt a bit awkward as they were really close now. Timidly Naruto put his arms around Sasuke (he had to, or he would fall off the chair.) Sasuke was first all limp and passive but then he returned the gesture, but his arms felt as if they were of jelly, just as Suigetsu's. 

„He was only thirteen“, he said. „Still a child, and already ANBU. They scared him, lied to him, manipulated him, and as he feared a war more than anything else, he obeyed.“

„But how could he?“ Naruto replied. „Thrusting you all in loneliness and despair. He loved you, didn't he?“

Tears were now running down Sasuke's face, and he was glad that Naruto, still holding him in embrace, could not see them. He was barely in control of his voice now, but still he could speak: „He did love me. He let me live – that was the compromise he could achieve.“

„They wanted him to kill you too?“ 

Naruto tightened his embrace – he needed to feel that Sasuke was with him, that his heart was beating, that his belly was moving with his breath. Killing Sasuke – not now, but when he had been a child, ripping him out of his life, not only out of his future but also out of his past. An abyss opened beneath his feet – he would have never become friends with Sasuke, he would never have felt the joy of being acknowledged by him, of Sasuke regarding him not as a monster but as a human being. He'd never have become the person he was now. The room was shaking, and suddenly it was Sasuke who held him and not the other way round.

„But you were all little then“, he said. „Just seven.“ 

„I was still a member of the clan“, Sasuke replied, and silently he finished the sentence: and might have grown up to avenge them. „I was not even the youngest child.“

As Naruto pondered these words, realization sank in. The village he had grown up in, the village of his friends and all his precious people, the village he had fought for – they had been ready to order the murder of a whole clan, including the children.

„I still can't believe that the Sandaime consented to this“, he said. „Don't you remember him? He seemed such a gentle friendly old man.“

„He was outvoted by Danzou and the two councillors. Itachi entrusted me to him when he had to leave after the massacre – he had been chosen as scapegoat for their crime, taking all the blame upon himself, and then living with Akatsuki as their spy until his death. He didn't gain anything from what he did, only a short miserable life. They sacrificed him as they had sacrificed the rest of the clan, and as they would have sacrificed me – no happy end for him.“

Danzou again, Naruto thought. Nagato's tale came to his mind, how he had been driven into despair by Danzou's betrayal, and then how Sai had grown up in Root, being forced to abandon all his emotions. He was ready to believe that he was capable of anything.

„Danzou will have to pay“, he said. „I promise you: When I am Hokage I will make him pay for what he did to you – and to your brother.“

„You will have to make him pay in order to become Hokage“, Sasuke said, gently dissolving the embrace, caressing Naruto's shoulders while he did it, to make sure that he was not rejecting him but just no longer needed to be held. He felt weak and exhausted, but also strangely light-hearted: Being the first to ever do so, Naruto had stepped boldly into the circle of sorrow and despair Sasuke had been living in since the massacre, instead of telling him to leave it or simply remaining otuside and leaving him alone.

„Whatever“, Naruto said. „Make him pay, become Hokage, see that the truth gets known and make you return as a hero of the Leaf. And your brother“ – he could not force himself to promise that he would be honoured as a hero too, as he still disapproved of what he had done. „The truth shall be told about him too, and he shall be mourned appropriately.“ 

It was a weird feeling, raising his heart and scaring him at the same time: He'd have to do everything to become Hokage, not one day in the future, but as soon as possible, as now Konoha was ruled by a criminal and a murderer, and not just a militaristic hardliner, as he had previously thought. It could not remain like this.

Sasuke was content, and tired from the emotional uproar. He had not intended to tell Naruto about the massacre – not now at least, but only after some careful planning and deciding of what he wanted to tell and what not, and certainly he had not intended to get as emotional as he had, but all in all, he had gained more than he could have hoped for. They'd discuss the details of how to achieve their aims later, as he was exhausted now, and as Naruto had to work – it was Friday and his shift started early. Sasuke would not join him this evening – he did not feel like being among people. He asked Naruto for something to read: No newspapers, but something light and entertaining. 

Naruto gave him the Gutsy Ninja. It felt strange, giving Sasuke such a personal book, but he did not have any other. He left Sasuke curled up on his bed, reading.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Two: Tealights

Naruto had to work until late in the night and returned to his apartment only when his guests were all firmly asleep. For some seconds he thought of Karin, spending her first night alone at her own place, then he found himself some space next to Sasuke, who had fallen asleep while reading, curled up in the middle of his bed. Naruto pulled out his precious book from below Sasuke's head, smoothed a page that had got crumpled, and finally went to bed himself. 

He slept in, and woke up only when his guests were already up and active: Juugo was playing with a toy he had bought the day before (a yo-yo it was called, as Naruto learnt some days later), Suigetsu was mending his clothes, and Sasuke was busy arranging some items on Naruto's sideboard. (Naruto had no idea what he had put there. Some of his usual chaos,probably.)

When Sasuke got aware that Naruto was awake he invited him to join him.

“I told you yesterday about it”, he said. “The last photo that was taken of our family, when my parents were still alive.”

It was leaning against a piece of cardboard, and the cardboard itself was supported by one of Naruto's pots, which he did not use anyway. It was not perfect, Sasuke thought, he would have to get a frame for it, but all in all, it looked quite a bit like the pictures other people kept on their bookshelves and desks. 

Naruto looked at it silently. So these were Sasuke's parents, he thought. His mother smiling warmly, standing right behind Sasuke, ready to hold and protect him if necessary. His father looked grim, and full of worries, as if he was aware of what was being planned against his clan. Itachi stood apart, distancing himself from his family, very serious he as well. Not what Naruto dreamt of when he dreamt of his family – he imagined his family all smiling, looking at each other with warm eyes, not staring into the camera – but a family all the same. Sasuke looked at the picture with dreamy eyes, and Naruto knew that he must not say anything critical. Maybe it was not necessary to have a perfect family to love them. And his mother definitely had loved Sasuke, you could see it in her eyes. 

Suigetsu and Juugo had joined them; they were now looking at the picture too. 

“Your mother was a beauty, eh, Sasuke?” Suigetsu said.

Sasuke nodded. He had never seen her like this. She had always simply been his mother.

“You look just like her”, Naruto said, but his words barely reached Sasuke's mind. 

A bit more masculine, Naruto thought, with a stronger jaw and stronger cheekbones, but still a fine, clear, rather feminine face. He looked at seven-year-old Sasuke on the photo: He was indeed very cute, even for a child of his age, but his eyes were already full of sorrow; he was smiling widely, but it was not the smile of happiness: It seemed as if he tried to make the family stay together by smiling at everyone, and into the camera. The smile of despair Naruto knew so well, even though his own despair had been of a different kind. At the age of seven, before the massacre, Sasuke had not yet assumed the air of grim determination that had become so characteristical for him in later years. He wanted to tell him that he would make him smile again, but a look at Sasuke absorbed in his pain, told him that these were not the right words at this moment. 

Maybe that wide smile had really gone forever, Naruto thought, just as his parents had died forever. He touched the back of Sasuke's hand, and Sasuke took it and pressed it. He was still lost in his sorrow, barely noticing anything that happened around him, but Naruto's touch came as a relief, and suddenly he was very glad that he had showed him this picture of his family.

Juugo had come too, taking Sasuke's other hand and leaning against his shoulder. 

“It must have been nice to have a family”, he said.

“Sure it was”, Sasuke answered. He forced himself to return to the present. (He had to, hadn't he? He could not burden a child as Juugo with all his suffering.) “Do you have some candles?” he asked Naruto.

“In the restaurant they should have some tealights”, Naruto answered, still moved by Sasuke's sadness.

Sasuke had to close his eyes to turn around and away from the photos, so that he could follow Naruto downstairs. The restaurant was closed, however, and they had to go to some drugstore. Naruto insisted that they did not buy the plain, cheap tealights, but got some fancy, coloured ones, smelling of honey and cinnamon, and also some containers of stained glass to put them into. He watched patiently while Sasuke took his time to choose.

When they returned, Juugo and Suigetsu had left – to their respective friends, as Sasuke suspected. He would not have minded Juugo, but he was rather glad that Suigetsu was not with them when they put up and lighted the tealights. Naruto took a picture from the wall (one of Jiraiya's former lovers, that was no longer needed) and used the frame for the photo of Sasuke's family. They'd have to replace the pot too, eventually, for something more appropriate, but for the moment they were pleased with the result of their work. Sasuke took a step backwards to take it all in with his eyes – he felt still sad, but more peaceful than usual, and he did not fall into the abyss of black despair he used to fall into, and if he felt that he was beginning to fall, there was not only his dream of revenge to get him out of it, but also the little candles, and Naruto, who had come to his side and had put his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. 

Naruto knew that he must not show it, and he had a bad conscience about it, considering Sasuke's sadness, but his heart was rejoicing: To him, the message of their improvised memorial for Sasuke's parents was clear: Sasuke was going to stay. He was making himself feel at home at Naruto's place. 

“Do you have something of your own that you want to put up too?” Sasuke asked. 

Naruto shook his head.

“They didn't give you anything, did they? No photos, no personal items, not even your parents' names.”

Naruto wondered whether he should tell Sasuke that by now he had learnt that his father was actually the Yondaime. He had not been told about him – he had been saved by him when he had been in danger of sprouting the ninth tail of the kyuubi, and finally the Yondaime had acknowledged him as his son. 

He might look for some official photos of his father – there had to be some, in history books, or some news magazines – but it would not be the same. A photo of a young hero, not of a loving father.

He had dreamt of telling Sasuke about the Yondaime in triumph: I'm not a nameless orphan, I'm from a famous family, just as you are! But now there was little triumph in it: A famous father who had never had the chance to care for him was rather a sad than a glorious idea. 

Sasuke felt his sadness and drew him closer, but Naruto stiffened.

“It's okay”, he said. He did not want to be pitied by Sasuke. 

Sasuke did not mind – he was content as it was, with Naruto's arm on his shoulder and his arm around Naruto's shoulders, and Naruto leaning against him. His sadness was not gone, but it was bearable now. He would avenge his clan, but he was in no hurry at the moment, and most of all, he no longer had to choose. Naruto had promised to help him, he would not have to do it all on his own. He'd still kill Danzou with his own hands – he could not let anyone else do this – but for all the rest they'd stay together. His heart was no longer broken into two pieces: He could be faithful to his family, and be with Naruto, his friend.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Three: Planning Revenge

After standing silently side by side with Naruto for several minutes, Sasuke's mind turned again to more practical questions. 

“Have you thought about your promise?” he asked. “Do you have any idea how you will keep it?”

“I haven't thought about it yet”, Naruto answered. “Work was very busy yesterday.”

It was not entirely true. He had thought about what he had heard, but not about how to turn Danzou out of office. He did not know why Sasuke's story had made him come to this resolution, while Sai's and Nagato's had not – maybe because Sasuke was closer to him than Sai or Nagato. No, he decided. Murdering a whole clan of one's own village was definitely worse than what Danzou had done to the other two. Konoha was ruled by a murderer, and could not remain so. 

“Do you have any ideas?” he asked Sasuke in his turn. 

“Sure”, Sasuke answered. “My plans are not perfect yet, and I will have to change them, now that you are helping me, but I have a lot of ideas.”

“Will you tell me about them?”

Sasuke hesitated. Telling Suigetsu about his plans had been bad enough, telling Naruto would be even worse. “We'd somehow have to get into the Hokage tower”, he began. “I'll send my team to do some spying. It would be too dangerous for myself, but Juugo or Karin won't rouse any suspicion. Maybe your friends in Konoha can help as well. Our aim will be to find out about Danzou's habits, so that we can attack him when he's on his own, or, even better, when he's together with those two Elders. I only want to take revenge against them, no one else.”

Naruto raised his brows, and Sasuke realized that he should not have said this: Naruto didn't have to know that he had ever considered killing not only Danzou and the Elders, but everyone, and then burning down the entire village. It was obvious that Naruto would never consent to this (and of course he had to become Hokage of something when Sasuke's revenge was completed.) 

“There won't be any moment when Danzou is on his own”, Naruto answered. “He's the Hokage, heavily guarded at every second of the day, and also during the night.”

“That's where I'll need your help. You aren't a rogue-nin, at least not officially. Officially you are hidden away at some secret place in Konoha. People will wonder when they see you, but they won't take you prisoner. You will tell them some story: that you've been sent by the Hokage himself on a secret mission to retrieve me, and that he had to cover up for it by telling that you were safe at that hidden place – the other villages did not have to know that Konoha's jinchuuriki had left and could not defend his village. I'll act as your prisoner. You may even blindfold me, only the fetters should be fake so that I can easily shake them off. You'll tell people that you have to take me directly to the Hokage.”

“Sakura won't allow for it.”

“You'd have to explain it to her.”

“Still the guards won't let me in. They won't be any random shinobi, but the Root ANBU who are closest to Danzou. They'll wonder why they've never heard of this mission to find you and they know that I'm your friend.”

“Maybe my replacement, what was he called again, can help us. He is a member of Root, isn't he?”

“Your plan includes a lot of help from me and my friends. What will remain for you?”

“Killing Danzou of course.”

“So we will have to do the tricky and dangerous parts, so that you can finally slay an old man. What honour is in that?” 

Sasuke was silent – killing Itachi would have been a proof of his strength, and a proof that he had been able to gain this strength without acquiring the Magekyou Sharingan. Now he had obtained it without even wanting it, and gained immeasurable power, while Danzou, unlike Itachi, was really just an old man.

“Old or not, he is responsible for the murder of my family”, he said.

“But can you really do it? Strike down an old man, unable to defend himself?”

Sasuke had seen pictures of Danzou. He had seen the harsh lines on his face, making him appear as if he had never smiled, he had seen the cruelty in his single eye, and he had not felt any pity at all, just the wish to wipe him off the earth. 

“I was only seven at the time of the massacre”, he said. “Unable to defend myself. And still if things had gone according to to his plans, I would have been killed too.”

“Still”, Naruto said. “You don't want to be like them, do you?”

The day before, when Sasuke had told him how they had planned to kill him, Naruto had burnt with hatred and anger, and with all his heart he had desired to make Danzou pay for what he had done. Today, however, the thought of killing an old man scared him. Only if he called before his inner eye again how Danzou had cold-bloodedly ordered the murder of a whole clan, he froze with disgust, he wished that Danzou had never existed, and his heart grew hard.

I must not give in to it, he thought, remembering Nagato. For some seconds he hesitated, then he decided to tell Sasuke about him.

“When I saw the debris that had once been Konoha I did not feel anything but hatred. Well, not at the beginning when I was confident of my newly-gained power. Then I just thought of defending the survivors and fighting off the aggressor so that he could do no further harm. But when my jutsus were not strong enough to defeat him, I grew desperate, and my hatred became like a flame, eating me up from inside, until I turned into the kyuubi.”

Sasuke nodded. Naruto's images were not the ones he would have used, but the mechanisms of hatred and despair transforming into the desire for revenge were all too familiar to him. 

“But when I stood before the aggressor, I refrained from killing him and talked to him instead and learnt how he, too, had been used and betrayed.”

“It would not have worked with Itachi”, Sasuke said. “He wanted me to kill him. He wanted to preserve his secret of how he had been ordered to murder the clan by the top echelon of Konoha, rather than have me forgive him and turn against the village.”

Naruto had no idea what to make of this remark. He waited for further explanations, but when there didn't follow any, he continued, taking up Sasuke's remark without understanding it:

“Itachi was used, Nagato was used – maybe Danzou is being used too.”

“Danzou?” Sasuke asked, taken back by the suggestion. “Who would use him?” 

The Akatsuki with the mask, who is behind everything, Naruto thought. But maybe he is being used too, and was turned bitter by some betrayal that happened in his youth.

“And where does it end?” Sasuke continued. “The one who used Danzo was used by someone else, and that one by someone else again, until we get back to the days when Amaterasu herself still walked the earth.”

The chain of hatred, Naruto thought, starting in the dawn of time.

“And who will be held responsible for the murder of my family then? We cannot travel back in time and punish those who started it back then. Stick to your promise!”

For the first time in his life Naruto would have loved to step down from a promise he had made. He must have been all emotions yesterday, he thought, not able to think properly.

“And what will happen then?” he asked, trying another way of dissuading Sasuke from his plans. “He is the Hokage of Konoha. All involved in killing him will get executed for treason, murder, conspiracy and an attempted coup d'etat.”

“I'll take it upon me. You've been used by me, after I tricked and manipulated you. Tell them I have caught you in a genjutsu, if nothing else works.”

His original plan had been that Naruto should kill him (after he had taken down Danzou) so that he would be appointed Hokage for this heroic deed. Suigetsu had suggested that he should talk to Naruto about this part of the plan, lest he would try to kill Sasuke before he had killed Danzou, or refuse to kill him at all, but Sasuke could not bring himself to tell this Naruto.

“Besides when you are Hokage, you can grant mercy to all the helpers and have only me executed. It will be up to you.”

Suggesting to Naruto to have him executed seemed more acceptable than that he should kill him with his own hands. Naruto thought differently, of course.

“How should they make me Hokage after I participated in a conspiracy to murder the previous Hokage? And how shall I have you executed?” 

“Someone will have to pay the price for killing Danzou. I am willing to pay.”

“No way”, Naruto said. “Your plan is rubbish. Talk to me again when you have found one that does not include your death.”

There is no such plan, Sasuke thought. Not when Danzou is Hokage and all of Konoha will stand up for him. But I have to stand up for my family, avenge them and die for them.

Naruto, when there was no answer from Sasuke, opened his hand (the one that was not lying on Sasuke's shoulder) in a gesture that invited Sasuke's family on the photo to join their conversation. 

“Your parents would not approve if I have you executed”, he said. “I have promised you yesterday, and I will promise you again: Danzou will have to pay for his crimes, I will become Hokage, you will return to Konoha as a hero of the Leaf, as you deserve, and have a bunch of kids who are just as cute as you once were.”

Sasuke was silent. Refounding his clan was not really what had been on his mind these days.

“That's what your parents would want for you, I am sure”, Naruto continued. (It was what he hoped that his own parents would have wanted for him, at least.) “Did you not tell me that your happiness would have been your mother's first priority?”

“When did I say this?”

“After the play we saw last week. At the festival.”

Sasuke remembered. He should be more careful with what he said. “She loved me, but I love her too”, he replied. “I cannot leave her unavenged.”

Naruto shook his head. “But not by getting killed yourself. We'll find our own way to make Danzou pay. Just have faith in me.”

Sasuke gave up. He should not have listened to Suigetsu when he had told him to inform Naruto about his plans. Now that the damage was done it was impossible to return to his original intention of returning to Konoha without Naruto and burning it down with his Amaterasu while Naruto was safe in Music Town. 

“So we have a deal”, Naruto said. “I help you get your revenge, and you don't set out on your own to do something stupid.”

“I guess so”, Sasuke answered. 

Naruto was very pleased with himself. Sasuke would stay. He would no longer have to worry about his departure, and hope from day to day that it would be postponed again. 

“What about your team?” he asked, suddenly remembering their quest. “They are still looking for that place that does not exist, so that they can find healing for their wounds.”

“You may join us”, Sasuke answered, surprised how easy inviting Naruto suddenly had become. “I have already discussed the matter with Suigetsu, and I am certain that Karin and Juugo would be happy to have you with us too.”

Naruto hesitated. The invitation came unexpected, yet he felt the warmth Sasuke had put into it, and his heart opened to him. He would not be separated from him again, he thought – on the other hand he liked Music Town, even though he had felt rather lonely there before Sasuke's arrival, and also Sakura's letter would not reach him in the wilderness. 

“You don't have to decide now”, Sasuke said. “We'll stay for some more weeks, as Karin is having her bitemarks removed, and who knows what will happen then. They don't seem very eager to take up their quest.”

He wasn't eager either and even considered staying without his team if Naruto refused to leave. Here he had access to newspapers, telling him about the current situation of Konoha. 

All the time Naruto had been leaning against him, with their arms lying around each other's shoulders, but now that there was nothing more to discuss, Sasuke's awareness of Naruto's physical closeness intensified. Naruto's hair was tickling his cheek – he liked it, and he was tempted to caress his shoulders, but he did not dare, lest he betrayed himself. There were other advantages to this place than just newspapers, he realized, and he might make use of his time while he was stuck here, waiting for Naruto to come up with a plan to get their revenge. Maybe he was lucky. 

“Do you really think that it is possible to be in love and not know about it?” he asked, remembering that Naruto had seemed to believe in this idea just as well as Karin.

“Why?” Naruto asked back, surprised by the sudden change of subject. “Have you come to the conclusion that you might be in love with Sakura after all?” 

“No, definitely not” Sasuke replied, almost physically hurt by Naruto's question. It took him some seconds to calm down and overcome his disappointment.

“What about you?” he asked. “You've always been in love with her, haven't you? Why do you try to press her on me? Have you ceased to like her?”

Naruto hesitated with an answer. “I am not sure. I've been in love with her, but she always loved you, and me she only saw as a good friend. Besides, if I get together with her, you will be left out, but I could be happy for the two of you if you'd marry and have a lot of kids I can babysit.”

He was leaning heavily against Sasuke, and his voice betrayed his sadness in spite of his claim that he could be happy for his friends' sake. Sasuke wanted to comfort him, but again he did not dare - he would take his time. For the moment he was content with what he had heard: Obviously it was possible to be very confused about whether one was in love or not. 

“We'll return to Konoha together and make this Danzou pay”, he said.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Four: Survival Skills

Karin came to visit them just after they had lunch, when Sasuke was lying on Naruto's bed, reading the Gutsy Ninja, and Naruto was doing the dishes. Her eyes fell immediately on the small memorial for Sasuke's family.

“Is that you when you were little?” she asked. “You haven't changed at all: Absolutely cute. And your brother's quite cool. I'm sorry I have never met him when he was still alive. How old is he on this picture?” 

“Twelve or thirteen”, Sasuke answered. 

“He was very manly for his age. I guess he had a lot of admirers.”

“He was forced to grow up when they made him join ANBU. I was the younger son, and thus allowed to remain a child. After the massacre, this changed.”

“Ah, no, you're still young and cute.”

Sasuke's annoyance grew with every single word of Karin.

“It's so lovely that you've put up this picture, sharing it with all of us. Now you just have to build a little shrine for it. Have you thought of it?” 

“No”, he answered hesitatingly. “But I might think of it.”

His anger had turned into irritation – Karin never failed to do this to him, and though he was grateful for her suggestion he remained on the alert, wondering what she might come up with next.

“And you're reading the Gutsy Ninja! I did not know that you were interested in love stories.”

Sasuke turned the book around to read the text on the back cover, to check whether it mentioned something he might have missed. Or maybe the love story only began in the second half of the story – right now he was just in the middle. But nothing indicated at any woman who might have been of importance to the hero. 

“It's not a love story, is it?” he asked Naruto for confirmation.

“Well, there's the girl he's met at the beginning of the book. Later she turns up again after – no, I cannot tell you, I don't want to take away the suspense. Anyway, at the end he meets her again.”

Karin had claimed Naruto's only chair for herself, and it seemed as if Naruto would have to stand, but to Sasuke's amazement, after offering his guests some tea, he sat down next to him on his bed.

Sasuke turned the pages until he had found the scene where the girl was introduced: On the course of some minor mission the hero had taken part in she had offered him something to drink and tended to his wounds, which had not been serious anyway. There had been some lines about her extraordinary beauty and her eyes full of laughter that should have raised his suspicion, but then she had vanished from the story.

“I'd have thought that if you are in love you could not stop thinking about the person you're in love with”, he said to both his listeners' surprise. It took Naruto some seconds to come up with an answer.

“But he thinks of her. It's only that Jiraiya doesn't write about it. It's an adventure story after all, not a love story.”

“Just as I said.” Confident now that he did not have to be embarrassed of reading it Sasuke returned to the book. It was a weird lecture anyway, as the Gutsy Ninja's name always reminded him of the real Naruto who was sitting next to him. He wondered how Naruto had felt when he had read the story.

He could not concentrate while Karin and Naruto were talking, discussing the fact that the Gutsy Ninja was out of print, and also Naruto's upcoming interview with Jiraiya's prospective biographer. He put down the book, and was glad when Suigetsu entered with some important news of his own.

“I have a contract”, he announced after pouring himself a cup of tea and settling down on Naruto's table. “Or rather two. The third band I met – well, they're not bad, but they're not really my kind of music. It's okay though, two bands will be difficult enough to handle. Concerts are mostly on Fridays and Saturdays, and I cannot be at two places at once.”

“You might create a clone”, Sasuke suggested. 

Suigetsu stared at him.

“Not here”, he said. “It would look very suspicious. People here are not used to ninjas.”

Naruto and Karin were still speechless. They had not known that Suigetsu played the drums.

“You are sure that you can keep up with them then?” Karin asked. “They're a pretty high level here.”

“So am I. You can already pack your first-aid bag for my first concert where the young girls will faint one after the other.”

“You are so bad that people pass out?” Karin asked back.

“They pass out from excitement over my sheer sexiness when I play the drums. You should know about this phenomenon: You are the med nin after all.”

Karin remained sceptical, and Suigetsu turned to another matter.

“Anyway: As much as I value your hospitality, Naruto, I have decided that now that I will earn a lot of money myself I no longer need to burden you. I have found a place for myself; it's just on the other side of the street, in the attic as well, so that if you feel lonely and desire for my company, you will just have to look out of the window and wave, and then we'll decide whether I visit you or you visit me.”

They all turned to look for Suigetsu's place.

“When will you move?” Sasuke asked.

“Today. If you will help me move. Where's Juugo?”

He was still with his little friends, so the other three had to carry Suigetsu's stuff. (Suigetsu himself was still not able to lift anything.) Neither Naruto nor Sasuke considered themselves weak, but after climbing several stairs carrying Suigetsu's various drums they were quite out of breath. When they had put up the equipment, however, Suigetsu was beaming. Aside from the drums, the room was still empty and Suigetsu had spread out a blanket on the floor as some improvised table cloth, and used his cooking gear to prepare tea for his guests. 

They are finding themselves a new home, Sasuke thought and wondered how he might ever get them together again when it was time to move on.

“It's very practical that you are a musician”, Naruto began when they had all sat down. “It means that you meet one of the most important requirements for being allowed to stay.”

“Glad to hear it”, Suigetsu answered. “So which is the other one`” 

“Dancing. Everybody who comes from a foreign country to stay and live here has to learn to dance and to play a musical instrument. Though you might be excused from dancing with your legs.”

“No problem here”, Suigetsu said. “I'll just invent a dance that requires wobbly legs. Eh, Karin, what do you say now? I'll become famous, while you will be told to leave.”

She remained calm, to the men's surprise. “I have already heard of that rule. I am still busy figuring out which instrument I want to learn.”

“The triangle might be a good choice”, Suigetsu suggested. “You should be able to master it.”

Sasuke understood that the suggestion was meant as an insult, but he didn't have any idea any idea what a triangle was. Karin looked as if she didn't either. Naruto remained unmoved, as if he understood but preferred not to intervene. Sasuke wondered whether he was learning an instrument too.

When they returned to Naruto's place, Sasuke was asked whether he could imagine helping out in the restaurant, as two of the members of the regular staff had called to tell that they were ill. Before Sasuke had had any time to answer, Naruto interfered, claiming that Sasuke was completely unfit for the job, as he had never learnt to be friendly to anyone. Sasuke felt annoyed, confused and hurt by these accusations, but he was unable to interrupt Naruto. He felt reminded of their first days in Team Seven when Naruto's jealousy had been so strong that it had resulted in real hatred. 

The patron's daughter, who was in charge that day, waited until Naruto had run out of breath, then she told Sasuke that to her he had seemed friendly enough on Thursday and that he should decide for himself whether he thought that he was up to the job.

“Sure”, he replied, ready to show Naruto that he was not inferior to him, least of all at a trivial job as working as a waiter. He was determined not even to resort to using his Sharingan. 

It turned out to be much more difficult than he had expected. Being friendly to the team was no problem, and neither did he have any difficulties with the regulars who already knew him, greeting him before he had time to greet them and asking him whether he had decided to stay and get a proper job, and wishing him luck. Yet asking strangers what he might do for them was beyond him. It was not even pride – he did his best to imitate Naruto, he even broke his resolution and activated his Sharingan, yet while it allowed him to analyze how Naruto moved and how his chakra worked within him, it did not help him to figure out how he managed to be friendly to everyone without being subservient, not to speak of copying his behaviour. 

After watching him try for an hour the patron's daughter ordered him to remain at the bar he where had only to deal with the regulars, where he was told what to do and did not have to ask anyone about their wishes, and where it was okay to answer to the guests' jokes with some jokes of his own, though he was not good at that either. (He had discovered however that a question as “are you sure you need another drink?” would make people laugh about the drunkard, not about him.) People would try to confuse him by using nicknames for the drinks they ordered, by criticizing him on trifles without meaning it, and by talking in riddles when they explained their special wishes. They seemed to love making him lose his normal air of aloofness, and he had trouble getting a grip on himself when people had managed to fool him again. But he did not mess up, he comforted himself, neither with the orders nor with the bills.

He envied Naruto for his apparent ease when he moved among the guests, always friendly, always knowing when he had to remain formal and when he could afford to tease the guests or even flirt with them. (The latter was particularly hurtful for Sasuke to watch.) When he messed up, he'd apologize in a way that made everyone laugh, yet in a friendly way, and no one was ever angry at him.

He was not particularly helpful towards Sasuke either, mocking him whenever an opportunity offered to him, accompanying any order with a hurtful remark as “if you know what that is” or “if you are able to do this.” With him at least Sasuke was able to maintain his facade, finding answers that silenced him and sometimes even exposing Naruto to the laughter of the guests. 

It was the key to survival here, he realized, and he resolved to get better at it: Be more quick-minded to understand when people were joking (even use his Sharingan though it would take some training to make it see through people's jokes as well as through their movements) and answer to them in a way that made his listeners take his side.

He'd cope with this place that was so friendly and so hostile at once. He'd show Naruto that he was quite as capable as him when it came to surviving in this strange town and deal with its inhabitants, who were unlike anyone he had ever met.

Well, that was not quite true. Kakashi had been a bit like this, full of irony, never stating clearly what he meant. Suigetsu and Karin were a bit like this too, constantly teasing each other, even though they were clumsier than people here. Them he had kept in check with his Sharingan, and by telling them off, yet this was of course not an option with the guests at the restaurant. 

No wonder the two of them were thriving in this town and behaved as if they intended to stay. He'd thrive too, he made up his mind. He'd show them that he was quite as skilled as them when it came to the skills you needed to survive here. He'd even learn to dance and play a musical instrument! And when the next male customer remarked that obviously he had been hired because the restaurant wanted to attract more female guests, he answered plainly: “oh, and more male guests. No one can resist me!” Sasuke knew that this was a lame answer (he'd have to think of a better one that in case he heard this particular line again, which was not too unlikely), and so he used his Sharingan to make the man order a drink that was much more expensive than the beer he had originally intended to drink. (He should not have done the latter. Naruto was correct: It was not fair.) He added one of these stupid little umbrellas to the drink, making it appear even more girlish: “Every man appears like a weak woman when he's facing me.”

When the evening was over (long after midnight) the patron's daughter called him to her office. “You did fine”, she said. “Only one customer complained that he had to wait for too long, but that's okay, we know him, he's one of those who just love to complain. And if someone's drunk, you don't serve him any more alcohol. You'll learn how to refuse – you'll be great once you gain confidence.”

Naruto had followed them into the office.

“You don't intend giving him the job, do you?” he said.

“I do.”

Naruto swallowed, but then he decided to get over his jealousy and show solidarity to his friend. “Well then – I can tell you what I earn – don't accept less.”


	28. Chapter Twenty-Five: The Rich Jerks from Center Uptown

Objectively, Naruto's place was still crowded, even though Juugo had gone to bed before Sasuke and Naruto had returned from work, and got up and left before they had woken up. Objectively, Naruto's place was crowded even if it was inhabited by only two people, and yet, compared to last week when Sasuke's whole team had been sleeping on the floor it was empty. Naruto felt it when he looked around: Suigetsu's sleeping-bag was no longer lying on the floor (he had always failed to store it away), Karin's various creams were no longer overpopulating the board above the sink, only Juugo's blankets lay neatly folded in a corner. 

Sasuke was still asleep, curled up on his bed. Naruto had learnt to keep his arms close to his body, now that Sasuke slept next to him, but Sasuke did not seem to have realized that curled up he took up more than half of the available space. Holding fast to his blanket he looked like a small child in his sleep. The vulnerable, horrified child who had just witnessed the murder of his entire family, Naruto thought: When Sasuke slept, he turned back into him. Naruto felt the desire to protect him – why had he allowed his jealousy to blind him and prevent him from seeing Sasuke's vulnerability?

Sasuke woke up when the sunlight touched his face. 

“You are awake?” he wondered, as on most days he had been the first to wake up.

“I had to, or I would have fallen out of the bed”, Naruto answered good-humouredly.

Sasuke saw now too that he had lain right in the middle of the bed, and that Naruto had had to find some free space around him. He blushed and withdrew to his half. 

“I'm sorry – I don't want to take up your space. I can find a place for Juugo and myself, now that I earn my own money.”

For a moment, panic flickered up in Naruto's face. “You are welcome to stay as my guest as long as you want”, he said. 

“Then let me pay my share of the rent at least”, Sasuke insisted.

“You don't have to. I am a rich heir now, too. The Icha-Icha-series is a great success throughout the ninja world, so that I only work in order not to get bored.”

Sasuke was confused: What did Naruto mean when he said that he was a rich heir now, too? It took him some seconds to work it out.

“I have never been a rich heir”, he said. “After the massacre, the clan's fortune was put under the surveillance of some trustee of the village, who saw that every week I got a small amount of money to pay for my food and other stuff I needed. At the beginning the money hardly lasted to the end of the week; later I learnt to live more economically.

Naruto listened – it sounded familiar to him. He dimly remembered that there had been a time when someone had bought food for him, but during all his academy years he had had to do it himself. “I never managed”, he said. “I always tried, making rules on how much money I was allowed to spend per day, but it never worked.”

“It was just too little”, Sasuke remarked.

Both were silent for a few seconds.

“It got better when I was a ninja”, Naruto continued in order to shake off the memories of loneliness he had fallen into. “It came as a revelation to me how life felt if you no longer had to consider every little coin you were spending.”

“For me, they stopped the payments from my family's account when I earned some money of my own, so my situation did not much approve. After my desertion the clan's fortune was confiscated as a whole, with the exception of some rather small amount deposited in banks outside of Fire Country where they don't care that I'm a missing nin. Yet it's not much anyway – we've never been that wealthy from the beginning as we were in charge of the military police of Konoha and not eligible to any lucrative missions, or a job in ANBU. After the kyuubi's attack on Konoha when the clan had been ghettoized, we were even poorer. Now, with all the expenses for medical treatment for myself and Suigetsu I will soon have exhausted my reserves.”

“Don't worry about Suigetsu”, Naruto said. “He'll be rich and famous soon, and then he will pay for himself.”

He considered Sasuke's story, which had come as a surprise to him. He had always taken it for granted that the Uchiha were not only one of the strongest and most famous clans, but also one of the wealthiest. He had always imagined that Sasuke had inherited their fortune and was free to spend it as he wished. He felt a bit ashamed now: With all his jealousy of Sasuke he had never spent much thought on how he was actually living.

“Take your time to decide whether you want to pay your share of the rent”; he said. “You are always welcome as my guest.”

He was not sure whether he wanted Sasuke to pay his share. It would mean that he was no longer the host who generously offered his place to Sasuke and his team but that they'd share everything for real, and on equal terms. He'd let him into his flat not as a guest, but as an inhabitant, with little space remaining for himself. The idea scared him, and yet, when he looked at Sasuke, more beautiful than ever as his features were no longer hardened by his desire for revenge, but soft from mourning for his family, Naruto felt strangely touched and ready to push all fear away in order to be close to him.

The moment passed without a decision from Sasuke's side. (Actually he had already made up his mind that he would pay for his share and Juugo's, but he intended to wait for some more days before he informed Naruto on his decision, pretending that he was taking his time.) They returned to more mundane activities, reading or browsing the magazine with events in town, and in the afternoon Naruto decided to introduce Sasuke to the town's most popular pastime, which was not music. Music, in Music Town, was not a pastime, but serious business, work, art and a huge industry. If people wanted to relax they opted for silence.

Naruto did not tell Sasuke where they were going. From the bed, where he was reading the Gutsy Ninja, Sasuke watched him putting on a red T-Shirt with some white text on it which was in Sasuke's opinion even uglier than the orange jacket he normally wore. Then, to Sasuke's horror, Naruto tossed a T-Shirt of the same kind to him, urging him to put it on.

“You have to wear it”, he said. “You have to show which side you're on.” It's like that crest of your clan you always wear on your back.”

Longingly Sasuke looked at his own shirt with the Uchiha symbol on it. He felt weirdly naked without it – no longer sure who he was. The other issue was that never before he had worn red and did not recognize himself in the mirror with such a brilliant colour. 

“It suits you”, Naruto said. “White's just too boring – red makes you look sexy.” (Why did he have a talent to confuse and irritate him with his compliments? Sasuke thought. Weren't compliments meant to please the person they were given to?) “Next week you can applicate your clan's crest on it.”

He insisted that they left early in order to get some good places, but also to have time to buy themselves some takeaway food for lunch and, most importantly, to enjoy the atmosphere in town as they leisurely made their way to the area where the event was going to take place. They met other groups of people wearing the same red shirt, and greeted them no matter whether they were complete strangers or people they knew as colleagues or regulars from the restaurant. Sometimes they stopped to chat, or rather to give Naruto the opportunity to chat. Sasuke was not able to contribute anything to the conversation as it was all about the upcoming event. 

They also met people clad in green, and with them, there was no friendly chatting, just an exchange of provocations.

“Sing while you can!” Naruto would tell a group who were standing around some food booth, drinking beer and singing loudly and out of tune. “When the match is over, you'll be silent.”

“Sure, because it was us who won the last three times”, they gave back. 

“They're the enemy”, Naruto told Sasuke when they had passed the group, making him wonder how Naruto, who had always done his best to make friends, had managed to gain himself any enemies when he had had lived in this place for only a few weeks. “They are Center Uptown, we are Inner Center. Center Uptown begins at the town hall and runs all along the left side of Heroes' Park. I hate them – they're all rich jerks.- Ey, you jerks! Don't behave as if you own the place! We'll show you who is the true champion of this town!” 

Sasuke wondered if he should look for an apartment in Center Uptown. He'd still be able to visit Naruto every day, and green did not look as stupid as red. Maybe he should ask Naruto for a quarter of town where people wore black and white.

The event itself took place on a green field in the outskirts of the town, surrounded by benches that allowed for several thousand spectators. To Sasuke it seemed quite impressive, but Naruto told him that it was still rather small. “Now it's only the quarters of town playing against each other. But in a few years when it will be popular throughout the ninja world there'll be whole towns or even countries competing against each other, and tens of thousands of people will be watching.”

He had to stop explaining as the match was about to start. Tense and upright he sat on his place, concentrating on what was happening on the lawn, with little attention to spare for Sasuke. 

“Look out for the guy with the number ten”, he told him. “That's our hero. That's why he's wearing the number ten.”

“The one with the ball?” Sasuke asked.

“No, that's Center Uptown's hero.” Naruto was a bit annoyed: Was this not obvious, as the man was all in green? He turned away from Sasuke and focussed on the match: Having not much talent for music Naruto had soon turned to music town's second most important activity: its ethics of pushing oneself to one's limits for the benefit of one's team, its rivalries and its heroes, its simple rules about winning or losing, and the ambition to come out top against all adverse circumstances were something he could relate to, and watching the players he sometimes even forgot that he was far from home and that there was no prospect for a quick return. (Though being with Sasuke and helping him find his way around town had a similar effect.) Fusing with the people of his quarter of town, becoming one with them in their singing, in their joy when their team scored, or their despair when they were losing temporarily made him feel as if he was one of them and not a stranger without any friends in this place. (Even though in Sasuke's eyes he had adapted quite well and better than he, Sasuke, ever would.)

To Sasuke, the whole game simply did not make any sense. A bunch of grown-up men passing a ball among each other as they had done in Konoha when they had been kids. (Not him, however, he had had to train.) He activated his Sharingan, but while it told him how they moved to control the ball it did not help him understand the game in itself. He listened to the conversations of people around him about this or that team winning or losing, but their words did not make any sense to him either: All the men were still on their feet and running, even though sometimes one or the other was on the ground, struck down by one of the other players, or faking to be struck down, and always they were looked after by the medical staff immediately, who came rushing onto the ground, not waiting until one of the players was so seriously wounded that he was no longer able to fight because he was in need of some intense medical care.

He, Sasuke, would not have gone down for minor wounds as these, or shouted out in pain and cried for help. He would just have gone on. And as it seemed, the players themselves did not take their wounds too seriously either but were back on their feet after a few minutes of treatment. Maybe they had to behave like this, Sasuke mused, for the lack of serious attacks, so that they complained loudly whenever they were touched by another player in a way that could be hardly called a strike. Normally they were lucky and the other player was told off, and two of them, one of each side, even had to quit the game. 

How were you supposed to win if you were not allowed to fight? Sasuke wondered. And how were you supposed to fight if whenever you touched your opponent the man in black would tell you off?

The man in black was the other source of wonder to Sasuke. People listened to him when he told them off. They accepted punishments. They talked to him, trying to make him change his mind, but in the end they accepted his decisions, if only grudgingly. (The spectators did not. They kept calling him a blind idiot who did not know the rules. Not knowing the rules himself Sasuke could not judge whether they were correct.) 

And all this happened without him using any force, which would have been useless anyway, as he was older and weaker than most of the players. It was a strange world, and Sasuke was fascinated by it.

Everyone rose from their seats suddenly, including Sasuke, who understood that this was what you were supposed to do. Naruto cheered at the top of his voice, he embraced Sasuke and kissed him on his cheeks (without meaning anything as Sasuke realized to his disappointment.) 

“I told you!” he shouted. “I told you! We are going to win! It's only five minutes left, and they can't make up for this! Not when they're still in shock.”

Sasuke had no idea what had happened, and he could not ask Naruto, who was now completely absorbed by the match, torn between hope and fear for his team. The woman on his other side however felt pity for him when she saw that he was rather confused and irritated instead of enjoying the match. 

“You are not from here, are you? Hasn't your friends explained you anything?”

“Nothing at all”, Sasuke answered. “Why are we winning?”

“We just scored a goal”, she answered, and then his confused looks told her that he was in need of even more explanations. Yet thanks to her he was able to follow the rest of the match with some more understanding, and felt glad with the people around him when Inner Center left the place as victors. 

He'd definitely have to find out more about this strange activity, he decided.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Six: The second letter

They might have done some touristy stuff the next day but Sasuke insisted that they did not go to some museum or exhibition but just paid a visit to the center of town, where he headed straight to the big book store at the market place. Once arrived, he went equally straight to one of the shop assistants. 

“I need to find out about the game we saw yesterday”, he said. “What was it called again, Naruto?”

“Football.”

“Yeah, football. I need to know how it works.”

The shop assistant led him upstairs, with Naruto in tow, and showed him a table full of books. With great astonishment (living at Orochimaru's place had led to some deficits in his education) Sasuke looked at the huge piles of thick large-formatted volumes, and when he opened them he found them filled with coloured photos, mostly of famous players, but also of teams or important scenes, with the occasional snapshot of a pretty fan in between. There were also tiny bits of text, all of them completely incomprehensible to Sasuke.

“I need explanations, not pictures”, he told the shop assistant.

“Oh, sure”, she answered and went to the shelves that covered the walls of the shop. “Here's a book on the history of football, and there's one that tells what happens behind the scenes and how in foreign countries the big clubs have become major business corporations.”

“I don't need to know about foreign countries”, he replied. “I need to know about the game itself.”

The woman took a book from two shelves below the first one. 

“Here's one that explains the technics of handling the ball, and some basic tactical moves. It's for kids who learn to play, though of course they mainly learn during training, not from books. Coming to think of it it's probably a book for aunts who hope that a book on football will finally make their nephews read.”

With this book Sasuke took some more time to have a look at it while the shop assistant continued taking books from the shelf and putting them into his free hand. “They are from other publishing houses”, she said. “You might want to have a look at them too.”

“Thanks. It's fine but it's not what I'm looking for. I want to know why young strong men listen to someone who's twice their age and much weaker and accept his decisions when they are fighting for their part of town.”

The shop assistant looked at him confusedly. “Well, it's not fighting but football, and he's the referee, isn't he?”

Sasuke had never heard of the term, and looked as confused as she was.

“I think I will manage by myself”, he said, attempting to smile.

“Oh, just do. Take as long as you want. Over there in the corner are some chairs where you may sit down to look and read.”

Sasuke followed her advice and went to that corner. Naruto went with him.

“You might have asked me to help you”, he said. “Maybe I would have been quicker to discern what you want.”

Sasuke glared at him. “You don't trust me to deal with a shop assistant, do you? Or to choose a book by myself?”

He was determined to learn to live at that place, and understanding football was part of it, just as getting along with the locals.

Naruto shrugged. “They have a cafe in the second store. I'll wait for you there: join me when you've completed your mission.”

Naruto did not take the direct way to the cafe but chose a detour via the department for fiction: He wanted to look for the Gutsy Ninja, to see whether it was really out of print. Indeed he found almost the complete Icha-Icha series on the shelf, yet not the Gutsy Ninja. It might be a coincendence – they might have just sold their last copy. He decided to ask one of the shop assistants (not the one who had been harassed by Sasuke) whether the Gutsy Ninja was still available, and followed her to her desk where she took a huge book from the shelf and tried to look it up. 

“It's not in here”, she said. “I'll have a look into the Books in Print itself.”

It was a bit smaller than the previous book, but part of a multi-volume series (volume Ji). “Here I have it”, she said. “Out of print. “No new edition planned. Sorry.”

Naruto should have been prepared for the answer, but it was no help. He felt sad and disappointed when he went upstairs to the cafe, wondering about himself how it should be possible that he was mourning for a book. He was mourning for Jiraiya himself, he realized. It had been his most personal, least commercial book, the book his heart had gone into, and in spite of the technical flaws Karin had pointed out it was, in Naruto's opinion, Jiraiya's best book and the only one that had managed to move him. In this book, not in his erotic romances, Jiraiya lived on for him, and the fact that it was out of print made him think that he was even more dead.

Naruto had ordered his second coke when Sasuke finally turned up. He had bought not one book, but three: A very small one, containing the rules of football (written especially for tourists), a bigger one with pictures about the history of football in Music Town (Sasuke did not take any interest in countries beyond the mountains, beyond the desert, beyond the sea) and then a Do-it-yourself-book on carpentry. 

“This is an amazing place”, he said. “They have books on everything.”

He sat down and opened the book on the history of football in Music Town. “It's for you”, he said. “It's even got some pictures of your hero. Here, the guy with the number ten.”

Naruto was stunned. He had not got many presents in his life, not even on normal occasions as his birthday or the day when he had graduated from the academy, and now Sasuke presented him with a book on what seemed to be a whim.

Sasuke watched him, very content that he had managed to surprise Naruto. To him it seemed perfectly appropriate that he should use the first money he had earned in this place to buy a present for Naruto to thank him for his hospitality. He was also pleased that he had managed to make up with the shop assistant, telling her that he had found what he wanted and thanking her for her support. She had accepted his thanks, making him feel that he might learn to live here. Only when he had smiled she had blushed and turned her face, which was a bit annoying.

He was not sure actually whether he would really find in this book the answer to the questions that had bugged him since yesterday evening: how it was possible to win or lose without actually fighting or hurting each other, and why they had all listened to the man in black, even though they were younger and stronger than him. He might not find the answers to these questions, but he was confident that he had found a beginning.

He ordered some coffee (a drink he had not known before he had come to Music Town, but he wanted to find out about it too) and then listened to Naruto, who had already found the photos of the current team of Inner Center and tried to explain to him their different personalities, and then they turned to the chapter that explained how the club had been founded in answer to the creation of the new club of Center Uptown.

Life gained a certain routine during the following days. At some time after breakfast they went out as Naruto's apartment was rather crowded even when Juugo was not with them. Naruto found out that it was best to give the magazine with events to Sasuke and let him choose what they would do – in most cases he'd opt for something where they would mix with the locals, not the tourists, and Naruto actually preferred this to the more fancy stuff he would have chosen to please his guest. If Sasuke didn't find anything they simply walked through town, having a look at shop windows and sometimes even doing some actual shopping. (Sasuke had decided that in order to better blend in he needed to replace the violet rope he used to hold his pants in place with something less extravagant. He hoped that it would stop the female part of the population from staring at him, but it didn't work.) 

Later they'd go to Heroes' Park, have picnic and talk. There were fewer awkward silences now, as working in the restaurant always gave them something to talk about, yet they both were aware that they were steering carefully around the topic that was most important to them and that would have given some depth to their conversations: The political situation in Konoha, and how they might gain revenge for Sasuke. (He kept collecting newspaper articles though.)

When they returned to Naruto's place they'd both take a break. Sasuke would read (he was still reading the Gutsy Ninja) while Naruto just lay on the bed and listened to some music until their shift started.

At the end of the week it was time for Sasuke to collect his new contacts and he insisted on going on his own. Naruto felt irritated, he wondered what he had done to annoy Sasuke, and even though he knew that it was irrational (Sasuke's backpack still leant against a wall, his katana still lay on Naruto's wardrobe, and the picture of his family still stood on the sideboard) he was worried that Sasuke might not return. 

On the other hand it came convenient that he had some time to spend by himself, as some days ago he had received a letter from Sakura which he did not want to read when Sasuke was present. He opened the envelope and another, smaller envelope fell out of it, addressed to Sasuke. Well, it was to be expected. He put it aside and read what Sakura had written to himself.

Dear Naruto! 

I am glad that you're doing well at that place where you are staying. I am glad to know that you are far from Konoha and safe – be glad too: Wherever you are, it must be better than here. I wish you all the best!

Here, the situation is getting worse from day to day. Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, has been demoted to chuunin on the ground that as the father of a man who has betrayed the village he can no longer be trusted to act in the best interest of Konoha. I heard the news from him personally as I happened to be visiting Shikamaru's mother, who wanted to discuss the latest news of Temari's baby, when he came back from his appointment with Danzou. For about one hour it was impossible to interrupt him while he was ranting against Danzou, who fails to value what he has done for the village in more than twenty years, not counting how many times he has risked his life and never failed to put the village above his own interests. He also cursed his own son for being careless, but mostly he blamed Danzou and how he ruined our alliance with the Sand. When he had finished ranting he went to his room and shut himself in, and neither me nor his wife could talk to him. 

Shikaku's seat in the village council and also in the Jounin assembly has been taken by a member of Root, and the same goes for Kakashi's seat. Kakashi is more relaxed about it, he has accepted that he won't be able to take up his career as a ninja. He still works as a nurse for Tsunade, and when there's nothing else to do he reads the Ichi-Icha-series to her and they have a lot of fun. He says that he is glad that he is no longer part of the administration of Konoha and does not have to take responsibility for decisions he doesn't really approve it.

I still do my best at the hospital. Cheating has become more difficult now; we have a new director, a member of Root too, and he checks every attestation I write to see whether people are really as ill as I say they are. I suspect however that he does not know much about medical ninjutsu: a few times now I've caught him talking utter rubbish and I guess that he won't notice if with some little tricks of mine I'll make my patients appear much worse off than they really are. I wish I had not to resort to such tricks to gain them the time they need to recover their strength. Two people have already died because someone (not they themselves) has messed up for lack off sleep, but Danzou does not see that he cannot waste people's lives as this.

We also have a special department in the hospital now, dedicated to the treatment of members of Root. None of the regular staff are permitted to enter, but their med nins keep swarming through the hospital, claiming the best equipment and the most expensive medicaments for themselves. I used to love my job, but now I stick to it only out of a sense of duty.

Shikamaru's mother has found a way to send letters to the Sand without any censorship. Some of the guys who do guard duty are her friends. She says that she couldn't do without news of her grandchild – I wonder how she'll behave once it's born. She is also looking forward to the wedding itself, but I fear that she and Shikaku won't be allowed to go. Not trustworthy enough. Shikamaru is already living at the Sand and will remain there. 

I wish I had better news for you. People complain of the strain and the restrictions but most of them think that they are necessary. Few talk of what has allegedly happened to you, as if it was only natural that the host of the kyuubi has to be shut away. 

Sai has asked about you again, however. He is glad that you are doing fine and he hopes that you will continue to do so. He told me that he is particularly happy that you have found Sasuke – he remembers how much you longed for him. I long for him too, by the way, and I still wonder how you almost forgot to mention that you found him. Have you managed to keep him with you at that place you are staying at, or is he still bent on revenge and denies all his former bonds? Tell him that I love him and long for his return and that I will wait for him, no matter how long it takes.

Keep well! Remember that I care for you!

Love, Sakura

Naruto put down the letter. It gave him a weird feeling – he had avoided thinking of Konoha these last days, mostly because thinking of Konoha meant thinking of a way to help Sasuke gain his revenge without getting killed himself, and with leaving him, Naruto, a chance to be appointed Hokage one day. Sakura's letter reminded him that even without taking his promise to Sasuke into account Danzou could not remain Hokage of Konoha. Only that he had no idea how to turn him out of office, just as little as he knew how to help Sasuke. 

He sat down to answer Sakura's letter, but just then Sasuke returned from the ophthalmologist, blinking and very carefully rubbing his eyes, for the first time for more than a week without glasses and obviously very satisfied with himself. (Happy would be too much. Naruto had no idea how Sasuke looked when he was happy, but, well, the satisfied expression he was wearing at the moment was a first step, and a weird contrast to the concern for Konoha Naruto had felt after reading Sakura's letter.) 

“You look good when you're smiling”, he said. “But not as cute as with glasses.”

Sasuke did not know what to make of this compliment, and his confused looks allowed Naruto to feel superior again.

“Sakura has written”, he continued. “She sends you her love and her regards and also a small letter just for you.”

He passed him the letter, and Sasuke opened and read it, raising his brows (but this may also have been an effect of the new contacts.)

Dear Sasuke!

Naruto told me that you're with him, and I hope that you still are, so that my words will reach you. I just want to tell you that I still love you and that every morning I wake up thinking of you and hoping that you're doing fine. Will you ever find your way back to Konoha?

With all my love, Sakura

Sasuke felt irritated and annoyed by these words, and he wanted to forget them as soon as he had read them, but of course it did not work. He'd have to deal with Sakura, someday, somehow. What was more worrying to him was the fact that apparently Naruto still tried to press Sakura on him. But he had complimented him on his looks, hadn't he, and he didn't seem to want Sakura for himself, but still nourished that foolish dream of seeing Sasuke happy with her. (Which would never be the case, Sasuke knew. Lines as the ones he had just read only drove him crazy.)

Where had the optimism gone that had filled his heart when he had entered? An optimism that had nothing to do with his revenge – imagining the completion of his revenge gave him a sense of fulfilment, and it seemed fitting that afterwards he would die, even though Naruto did not approve of it, but what he was looking forward to now rather felt as if a new path opened to him, a small path branching off from the general route of his life for some short time and soon uniting with it again to be sure, and still it gave him joy.

“I have some news too”, he announced. “You remember those guys we watched on the festival two weeks ago? I have enregistered at a dance school where they teach to dance like them.”

“What?” Naruto asked, utterly surprised as this was not what he would have expected of Sasuke. 

“They were beautiful to watch, I thought. I want to learn this too. Besides, you said yourself that dancing was a requirement if one wanted to stay for longer.”

It doesn't make sense, Naruto thought. Not with the way he acts around Karin, not with the way he acts around any female he was not acquainted with. 

The explanation followed: “They asked me to name a partner. I gave them your name.”

“What?” Naruto exclaimed again, and then, a bit calmer: “Why me? Why not some girl?” 

“I don't know any girl here.”

“Karin would love it.”

“I wouldn't. Besides, you need to learn to dance too if you want to stay.” 

“But we don't want to stay. We want to return to Konoha.”

“As long as it takes you to come up with a decent plan to fulfill your promise your should seriously consider learning to dance. Authorities here will begin to suspect that you are intending to stay for real.”

Naruto did not have any answer to this.


	30. Chapter Twenty-Seven: Which tells about Sasuke's reaction to the Gutsy Ninja

It was on this afternoon that Sasuke finished the Gutsy Ninja. Naruto watched him while he was reading the last pages, eagerly waiting to hear what Sasuke thought of the book. 

When there were only some twenty pages left Sasuke looked up. “They've been kissing for two pages”, he said. “Does anything else happen in the rest of the book?”

“They have sex of course”, Naruto answered.

Sasuke counted the pages. “It takes so long to describe it?” 

“It is meant to be good sex of course. Actually it's rather boring. You don't have to read it: The story itself is over.”

Sasuke looked irritated. He hated it when Naruto tried to patronize him, be it in his interactions with the inhabitants of Music Town or in his access to works of art dealing with sexuality, as the picture in the front hall of the editors of the Icha-Icha series. Naruto might think that he knew everything after training with Jiraiya for three years, but Sasuke had stayed with Orochimaru and was far from innocent either. 

(He was also convinced that he was getting better at dealing with the locals. He was quite proud that he had managed to discover that dance school and convince the women in the registration office that he wanted to dance with another boy.) 

He turned to the book in order to read the final sex scene and read it to the end, just in order to annoy Naruto. He was not sure how he felt about the scene: Certainly it was not as arousing to him as it was meant to be. There were far too many descriptions of the heroine's perfect body to his taste, and the moments when the protagonist touched her breast or her hips did nothing for him at all. The (much rarer) moments when the heroine touched the protagonist's chest, the inner side of his thighs or even his genitals were somewhat better, but he had to do a lot of mental twists to enjoy them: Either try to imagine the whole scene from the heroine's point of view, or stick to the protagonist's point of view it was written in and shut out that it was a woman who was touching him. At least he got some nice descriptions of the protagonist's cock (while else Jiraiya had not even cared to tell the colour of his hair.) 

It was not really helpful that the protagonist's name was Naruto, least of all when the real Naruto was sitting at some metres' distance watching him. Why did he not have the decency to turn around while he was trying to enjoy a sex scene? Now the heroine had begun to suck the protagonist's cock – suddenly he was switching between her and his point of view without being able to control it, and the images in his head no longer had anything to do with Jiraiya's story – he had done his best to get rid of his fantasies, hadn't he, so why did he have to insist on reading the rest of the story when he knew that it would bring them back again? He could not afford to indulge in them now, not when Naruto was watching. 

He was not sure what he wanted of Naruto. Certainly not what he had watched Orochimaru and Kabuto do, which was just disgusting. Some making out as people did in Heroes' Park might be okay, and he looked forward to dancing with Naruto, but he did not dare to dream of anything else, only that sometimes it just happened, as a few moments ago, making him realize that in the long run dancing and making out would not be enough.

There would be no long run, he decided. They'd set out to get him his revenge and then he'd die, while Naruto would marry Sakura and have real sex with her. He remembered dimly that Naruto had refused to allow him to die and insisted that he, Sasuke, married Sakura and refounded his clan with her, but it was not a prospect that Sasuke was looking forward to. Naruto would have to learn that things did not always go according to his plans.

He returned to the book: Now the protagonist had entered her vagina, and she was expressing her pleasure in various ways (mostly by praising the size of her lover's cock.) Sasuke had difficulties empathizing with her – wasn't she in a helpless humiliating position? Jiraiya probably had gained a lot of experience in his life, so he should know: Maybe women enjoyed this. 

Both the protagonist and his partner had an orgasm, and this was how the book ended. Sasuke put it down: Naruto was still looking at him.

“What do you think of it?” he asked.

“About the sex scene? It's okay.”

“No, the whole book.”

Sasuke had to shake off the memories of that last scene before he was able to recall the overall impression the book had made on him.

“The ending is a bit weird. It reads as if we were supposed to consider it a happy ending, but I can't be happy when the hero's friend is dead, when his brother has been crippled and his home country has been laid waste so that he cannot return. We are supposed to feel happy because he has survived and can marry that girl he hardly thought about while he was fighting.” 

“Well, he has won in the end. He has managed to protect her and her country.”

“He had to pay a high price for finally being allowed into her bed. And the peace he has achieved is not the lasting peace he was looking for. I don't see why it should be more than any other truce that only lasts until one side feels strong enough to strike again.”

“He has forgiven them for what they did to him, hasn't he, and now they can start an alliance”, Naruto answered irritatedly. Was it not obvious?

“But have they also forgiven him for what he did to them? He's humiliating them, and they give in because they're defeated, that's all. They'll strike again. The sex scene is meant to cover up for it, or to keep people from thinking.”

Maybe the sex scene was not even necessary. Maybe it was just him who was particularly sensitive to the hero's and the heroine's selfrighteousness. (He rather blamed the woman than the protagonist himself, mostly because the protagonist was called Naruto which made Sasuke take his side.) 

Naruto thought for some minutes before he answered: “Jiraiya longed for peace with all his heart. In the Gutsy Ninja he imagined a way how it might be achieved. Maybe it was not perfect. Jiraiya was a ninja, just as we are, and had never encountered true peace. How should he have known how to achieve it? He had some ideas, and his dream of peace, which is more than most people do.”

He paused and thought again. 

“But even if Jiraiya could not find a way to real peace, and even if the peace his hero found is flawed, I will find the real thing, a peace that is not just a temporary truce but a peace that will last. It's my quest, the legacy Jiraiya has passed to me, just as you have inherited from your clan your mission to avenge them. I won't give up on it.”

Only that, just as Jiraiya's hero, Naruto was still clueless how to achieve it, Sasuke thought. On the other hand he envied him for this quest: He felt that it was of a different quality than his own quest for revenge which was not a dream left to him by his family, but just an attempt to prevent himself from falling into that black hole of despair he always fell into when he thought of how they had been murdered – the hole where everything went black except for a nameless pain and a desire to vanish from this earth just as his family had.

“The book must mean a lot to you”, he said, “considering that Jiraiya even named his protagonist after you.”

Naruto did not feel like explaining that the book had actually been inspired by Nagato and that he had been named after the hero, not the other way round.

“Karin told me it's out of print”, Sasuke continued. “What about a new edition?”

“In the book store they told me that none is planned”, Naruto answered hesitatingly.

“You are Jiraiya's heir, aren't you? Why don't you talk to the editor at the publishing-house?”

“I haven't thought about it. But I might do so.”

Sasuke smiled, pleased that he had been able to be of some help to Naruto.

Later Naruto sat down to answer Sakura's letter. He asked Sasuke whether he wanted to add some lines of his own, considering that Sakura had written to him too, and Sasuke, who still felt embarrassed about Sakura's renewed declaration of love and did not really know how to answer to it, settled for annoying her: 

Dear Sakura!

I cannot return to Konoha as Naruto is lonely in Music Town and I have to keep him company.

Sasuke

He did not even care to keep these lines hidden from Naruto with the result that he managed to annoy him, too. He was on the brink of telling Sasuke that he did not need his pity and could do quite well by himself, but luckily he remembered in time that actually he wanted Sasuke to stay.

His own letter to Sakura was not for Sasuke's eyes:

Dear Sakura!

I am happy to hear from you again after such a short time, and I am sad that there is no better news from home. I wish I was with you and could support you in everything you are going through. I am sorry for Shikaku too, that he has been demoted, but maybe Kakashi is correct and it is better not to be part of any council that is led by Danzou. 

Sasuke is still with me, as you will have concluded from the lines he has sent you. I have persuaded him to stay, but I don't think that he will return to Konoha, not as long as Danzou is still in power. He told me that Itachi was ordered to murder his own clan, or rather manipulated into doing it by Danzou and the two councillors. Their original plan had been to kill Sasuke too, even though he was only a small child at the time, but Itachi managed to have this part of the plan cancelled.

I am not yet sure whether I should believe this story, as Sasuke learnt it from the Akatsuki with the mask, and I don'T trust him. Sasuke doesn't trust him either, but he believes that Itachi killed the clan on orders of Danzou. I think he wants to believe that Itachi still loved him, but also I have evidence of another kind that this might be the case. 

(Naruto did not want to tell her of his encounter with Itachi while they were pursuing Sasuke.) 

Sasuke explained to me that Itachi was told that the Uchiha clan was planning a rebellion that might have turned into a civil war if Itachi had not killed them. I think however that they said this only in order to scare him: Preventing a blood bath by murdering a whole clan does not make sense.

It has become clear to me now, however, that Danzou cannot remain Hokage and I am resolved to turn him out of office. I hope that this day is not too far away.

Take care! 

With love,Naruto

He folded the letter and put it into the envelope, then he let Sasuke's message join it and took it to the post-office. When he returned Sasuke was reading again, this time the Do-it-yourself book on carpentry and building furniture. It was a quick read, as the book contained a lot of pictures and Sasuke skipped the pages on building things he was not interested in. The introduction and the pages with general advice he read very carefully however.

When their shift in the restaurant began, at a time when it was still rather quiet, Sasuke made use of the opportunity to ask the patron's daughter where he might get the tools and material he needed according to his book.

“There are several do-it-yourself-markets around town”, she answered and told him the location of the nearest one. “What do you want to build?”

“A shrine.”

“A shrine? Who for?”

“My parents.”

“Are they dead?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. I'm sorry.”

There were some minutes of awkward silence as Sasuke had no idea how to answer to this. The regulars who had assembled around the bar were silent too. 

“That's quite an early aga to lose your parents”, one of them finally broke the silence. “I mean, my own son is twenty-five and he still needs a lot of parenting.”

Sasuke stared at him blankly.

“My father has a workshop in the backyard”, the patron's daughter said. “I'll ask him if you can use it.”

“Thanks”, Sasuke answered. The spell was broken now.

“Do you have any experience working with wood?” another of the guests asked.

“No, but I will learn.”

“Then let me give you some advice. Get some massive wood, made of a single part, not any plywood. It does not look well in the long run.”

“And use some decent laqueur”, a woman contributed her advice. “Or, even better, bee wax. It smells nice, and it will protect the wood against moisture. With flowers in a shrine, you're bound to spill some water.”

“Don't let anyone talk you into using screws, or, even worse, nails. Professionals use glue, or, even better, bolts.”

“And consider well the colour you want. I suggest something natural, and not too dark, but not too light either.”

The advice continued, much more than Sasuke could digest, or even remember. Soon the many voices merged into a single one, telling him to do things he had never heard of, but he also understood that somehow, in their clumsy way, these people were trying to be of help. He felt a bit dizzy. Only in the end, when people had run out of ideas, he was able again to hear their single voices, and the suggestion they had agreed upon: He was supposed to do a draft and then show it to his helpers so that they might approve of it. 

His heart was beating faster than normal, he felt as if he was in a light fever, and he messed up more often than on other days, but on the other hand he was finally able to make people accept his apologies with a smile. 

Naruto, who had watched the whole scene, felt excluded and slightly jealous. When they went to sleep he offered Sasuke that he might help him too with his shrine, but Sasuke was lost in his thoughts and not able to respond.

It turned out that there was not much opportunity to help. The patron introduced Sasuke to his workshop and taught him how to use his tools, and two of the other regulars, both trained craftsmen, helped him draft his sketch and develop a plan he could work with, and then gave him advice with choosing the materials and the correct tools. So in the mornings Sasuke now sat in the backyard of the restaurant, smoothing the board for his future shrine with sand paper and applying bee wax to them, and Naruto was only needed to hold some pieces of wood together while the glue was getting dry. 

Sometimes he sat next to Sasuke and watched him. (Sasuke would not accept any help with anything he could do by himself). He admired the peaceful almost transparent expression on Sasuke's face when he was doing some repetitive work, or his joy when some piece had turned out well, a joy that might change into sadness in the spur of a moment, and then Naruto was needed.

Naruto also wondered how Sasuke behaved with his helpers, listening to them and accepting their advice, and also the occasional soft drink the patron's daughter brought him. 

“You've changed”, Naruto told Sasuke about his observations. “Back in Konoha you always kept people at a distance.”

Sasuke stared at him blankly. “Did I?”


	31. Chapter Twenty-Eight: The first Dance Lesson

With Sasuke building his shrine the days had suddenly got busy for Sasuke and boring for Naruto, who could not do much more than watch him. There was no longer a need to come up with plans and ideas for excursions, and without Sasuke, Naruto did not enjoy going out.

So it came that he began to look forward to what he had dreaded when Sasuke had first announced it: Dancing. Still when they were standing in the entrance hall with the other teenagers, waiting for the lesson to begin while the dance teachers went around, ticking off names on their lists and collecting money, he felt weird and uncomfortable imagining that he would have to dance with Sasuke while all the other boys danced with girls. Sasuke himself leant against a wall, not noticing anyone around him, mentally far away, neither nervous about the dancing nor about what people would think. 

Naruto envied him: He did care about the opinion of the teenagers around them. For the first time in this town he was in a group of boys and girls of his age, and he wondered whether he might get along with them. Except for a few couples, deeply absorbed in their kisses, they were standing around in groups, most of them consisting either of boys or of girls, talking among themselves, but occasionally casting glances at members of the opposite sex. The girls were more active in that respect, actually, and when they had managed to make a guy look back at them, they'd turn away and giggle among themselves. Naruto caught some of their glances too – glances that had originally been meant for Sasuke but that had been lost on him as he did not react. Naruto smiled back at the girls, glad that they were perceived as one of the many pairs of male friends in the room. (And for once he wished that Sasuke at least gave the appearance of being interested in the girls around him.) 

He wished that he could continue to pretend to be one of the many boys who dreamt of holding one of these pretty girls in his arms, but Sasuke broke the illusion: The dance teacher approached them to ask them for the money and when he mentioned that they were the boys who planned to dance together, Sasuke confirmed him.

“We have a problem and we want to ask you to help us solve it. There are too many girls. Would you mind splitting up and dancing with them?” 

“Why are there too many girls?” Sasuke asked back before Naruto could say that he did not mind. “Weren't you supposed to name a partner?” 

“We only demand it of girls when the end of the registration time is approaching and there's a surplus of girls. Boys are asked to name a partner but they don't have to. If there's a surplus of boys, it's the other way round, but this never happens, only with grown-up men.”

So it was completely unnecessary that Sasuke had got him into such an embarrassing situation, Naruto thought. 

“But as it happens, we still have a surplus of girls.”

“Why can't they dance with each other?” 

“Maybe they want to dance with boys, not with girls.”

“I don't want to dance with girls either. I came to dance with my friend. I was told that this was okay.”

“It is. Sorry”, the dance teacher answered, looking confused, but also as if he admired Sasuke for his firmness. Naruto was even more confused, and also he realized that Sasuke was clutching his right wrist. Now he pulled him into the dance hall itself, which was filling with young people. He feels even more insecure than I do, Naruto realized, and the idea that he was supporting Sasuke helped him accept the situation.

All the boys felt insecure, even those who had come with their girl-friends, while the girls were merely nervous. Only when the dance teachers arrived, who happened to be two men, Sasuke relaxed, and in consequence, Naruto relaxed too. They were not that much out of place after all... Most of the boys, and some of the girls too, seemed be put off, however, when they explained the first dance, quickstep. Only when they had to practise the boys' steps (after Naruto had warned Sasuke not to use his Sharingan) their disgust was forgotten in the general embarrassment of having all the girls watch while they tried to understand the steps.

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke joined when the girls practised their steps. Both of them felt rather bored, as the movements seemed trivial to them, and they had difficulties to understand why it should be necessary to practise them over and over. They were glad when the dance teachers began to explain how to ask a girl for a dance in the correct way, most of all as it did not concern them – Sasuke had already taken Naruto's hand. The rest was buzzing around, looking for a girl that had not yet been claimed.

Sasuke used the opportunity to find them a quiet corner, and Naruto was grateful that he had at least that much sense for the situation. Then he opened his arms, and holding each other in some kind of loose embrace they tried to figure out how their steps might fit together.

After several minutes of trying in vain the dance teacher turned up. 

“Now who of you is the girl?” he asked.

“We are both boys”, Sasuke answered, and for once Naruto was glad for the icy tone of his voice, even though he knew that Sasuke used it to cover up for his insecurity and that the cover had become thin.

“Yes, sorry, I should have noticed”, the dance teacher replied. “So who of you is leading?”

“We are working it out”, Sasuke said.

“That's what it looks like.” The dance teacher paused, looked at both of them and decided: “For the moment you will lead”, he told Sasuke. “I'll show you the correct position.”

He told them to dissolve their embrace, then he laid Sasuke's right arm on Naruto's shoulder blade and Naruto's left hand on Sasuke's upper arm. First Naruto was stunned and let things happen, but when he realized that he was being put into a much weaker position he broke up the whole situation.

“Why him?” he asked. “He may be an inch taller but I am just as strong.”

Sasuke was clearly annoyed, and the dance teacher irritated. “This is dancing, not wrestling. You may enjoy that too, but here we teach dancing. He will lead, and you will follow willingly, even though you are stronger. Later you may change roles.”

Both the dance teacher and Sasuke looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to give in, and Naruto had little choice if they did not want to stop dancing at all. He allowed the dance teacher to teach him the girls' steps, which were just the opposite of the boys'.

“When you go forward you may lead a bit”, the dance teacher comforted him.

The whole thing still felt weird to Naruto, and he did not see the point of it. It only got a bit better when they got some music and were shown how to move around the room on some kind of zigzag line. Sasuke even looked as if he enjoyed it – actually he had missed embracing Naruto these last days when there had been little need to comfort each other. Dancing gave him an excuse to hold Naruto in his arms, and just for this it was worth it, but it was not really what he had hoped for when he had registered for that class. When the break began he accepted Naruto's offer to get them some drinks while he went to talk to the dance teachers.

Naruto watched him, wondering what he was up to. He regretted having agreed to learn to dance with Sasuke. The dancing itself was okay, though he would have preferred to lead, yet he felt that all the time they were being watched by the other teenagers, and being frowned upon. Without Sasuke he was able to breathe freely again, and he was ready to face people and cope with their looks and their questions, while he lined up for drinks. The other boys kept at a distance, while the girls seemed curious about him. Three of them found the courage to talk to him:

“You and your partner – are you together?”

“We are friends”, Naruto answered, not sure what she meant. “He's just arrived and doesn't know any girls, so he asked me.”

The girls giggled and whispered among themselves, then another of them said: “We think you are cute.”

“Oh, thanks”, Naruto answered, feeling a bit embarrassed. He was not used to getting compliments and had no idea how to respond. The girls were pretty, he thought, and nice. He smiled at them – Sasuke might be more handsome than he was, but if he kept behaving as he did he'd never get to know any of them. 

“You like it here?” he asked the girls to keep the conversation going. 

“Yeah, sure”, one of them answered. “My sister learnt to dance here, too. Now she's dancing at tournaments.”

“My mother said that latin's better than ballroom. I hope we'll learn some latin dancing soon. This quickstep's a bit boring.”

“It was okay, I think”, Naruto said, though silently he agreed to her.

“Do you dance with girls too?” the third girl asked him.

“Sure, why not?” 

“Would you dance with me?” 

Naruto was at a loss. He felt flattered, of course – no one had ever before asked him to dance. Karin had, he  
remembered, but at that time he had had the impression that Sasuke would not have approved, and also he had wanted to be with Sasuke.

Sasuke would not approve now either.

“I have to dance with my friend”, Naruto said. He doesn't like girls, Naruto was on the point saying, but then he shrank away from the idea. “he is rather shy among girls he does not know, and also, he's in love with a girl back at home and wants to be faithful to her.”

The girls did not look as if they accepted this excuse, and Naruto was glad that it was his turn to buy drinks and take them to Sasuke, who had finished talking to the dance teacher. The break was over anyway, but instead of explaining the next dance the dance teachers announced that they had been asked whether what they had learnt until now was everything there was to quickstep. “Of course it's not – that's only the basics. Now we'll show you what it can be.”

They asked the guys next to the stereo to switch on the music, got into the correct position and began to dance: to a much faster rhythm than the one the students had danced to, mostly moving in a circle around the hall, but sometimes crossing it on a diagonal line, taking it in large strides, sometimes stopping in the middle and hopping, seemingly standing still with their upper bodies, then they galloped, even faster than the beat, or they turned around in quick rotation. It had nothing to do with the clumsy way the students had been moving around according to a strict pattern – it was manly and athletic and in complete harmony, and never did they let go of each other, no matter how complicated the figures became. Against his will Naruto was impressed and moved. Was this what Sasuke wanted of him? He glanced at him: Sasuke was sitting straight and tense, completely absorbed in what he was watching. 

“Don't use your Sharingan”, Naruto told him. 

The second dance the dance teachers showed them was the rumba. It was slower and softer than the quickstep, and still there was nothing weak or unmanly about it, only an erotic tension that made almost all the girls and about half of the boys (Naruto among them) watch in fascination, while the rest was disgusted.

It's got nothing to do with them being men, Naruto thought. It's just about love and longing and tenderness and desire. 

The music stopped and the dancers let go. They looked at Sasuke, challenging him. “Is that more to your liking?” the one who did most of the explaining asked him.

It took Sasuke some seconds to regain his composure, but then he answered calmly: “Yes, that's what I want to learn.”

“You'll have to start at the beginning. After some years you'll be able to dance like this.”

He'll prove them wrong, Naruto thought, and I am supposed to be his partner. He wondered what he had got into.

“This time you learn the girls' steps”, he told Sasuke but this time there were no girls' steps, or rather, the first half of the girls' steps was the same as the second half of the boys' steps, and vice versa. At least Naruto was allowed to lead now, and yes, holding Sasuke and moving him around was much better than being led. Sasuke seemed embarrassed and hardly able to look into his face. 

The dance teacher who did less of the explaining had crept up on them. “Quite fine”, he said, and when Naruto looked around he saw that other couples were still busy sorting out their feet. “Now we go into the details: If you want to be good, you can begin by doing the basics well. So you don't just walk around but give every step the attention it deserves, shifting your weight and your hips. Like this.”

He did one full set of steps, moving his hips in a complicated pattern. When he finished, Sasuke tried to imitate him.

“Not bad. You know that you have hips and that it's possible to move them. Most boys don't. Now if you relax your control and let them swing a bit more.”

Sasuke tried again but it was not much different. His movements were gracious and smooth as a cat, beautiful to look at, Naruto thought but he moved like a fighter, not a dancer, always on guard, always looking for a stable position . He wondered whether the dance teacher saw it too. 

“Better”, he said. “Don't concentrate on your hips, just shift your weight and allow them to move freely.”

He gives the impression of someone who works hard, Naruto thought watching Sasuke, but he already looks much better than the other boys – it already resembles dancing, not awkwardly moving from one foot to the other. (The girls were better at it.) If he were a bit more relaxed and if he looked a bit less grim he might actually look sexy... The dance teacher must have realized too that he has the potential. Naruto envied Sasuke for the attention he got: Gay men were attracted to him the same way girls were, it appeared, yet on the other hand he was quite glad that he was left alone.

Just then the dance teacher decided to include him. “You don't have to watch and let your friend do all the work – try yourself!”

Sasuke gladly accepted the break, challengingly he looked at Naruto, and Naruto took up the challenge, looking back at Sasuke and letting his hips roll and swing. Soon Sasuke looked confused and embarrassed.

“Yeah, that's it”, the dance teacher said. “Seems you got it. Just don't overdo: It's enough if you let your hips move naturally. Now both of you practise – you learn from your friend.”

He left them to help some other couple who kept confusing their left and right feet. Naruto grinned at Sasuke in triumph: “Now don't use your Sharingan on me.”

Then however he got gentler and did his best to help his friend who so much longed to dance and just did not have the courage to move in a sexy way.

He was glad when it was over and the girls had to learn a figure called alemana which consisted of them turning under their partner's arm. He made Sasuke join them and pitied him in this embarrassing situation, surrounded by girls who kept glancing at him, not able to hide their fascination,, while the looks of the boys clearly told that they thought him some weird kind of animal. They react to him as I did when we were kids, Naruto thought, hating him because he's much more talented than they are and because he's different. Yet Naruto would not have swapped with Sasuke, nor joined him. When they had to pair up again he enjoyed leading him: It was his decision whether Sasuke turned under his arm or not, while he did just the basic steps he had learnt before, watching Sasuke make a fool of himself. 

The assistant dance teacher watched too. After some time he intervened. “You raise your arm too late” he told Naruto. “You must give him time to react.”

“It's okay”; Sasuke replied. “He always betrays himself and he has not yet managed go catch me unaware.”

The dance teacher gasped, leaving Sasuke wonder which kind of mistake he had made this time: Had he not spoken up in behalf of Naruto?

“I think there's a misunderstanding”, the dance teacher said. “This is not about trying to surprise each other and being on the alert. It's about love, not fighting. It's meant to be fun, and you are meant to be partners. So you make up your mind in time and lead him gently into the alemana. Try!”

It was not difficult, they just had to abandon the game they had been playing.

The dance teacher turned to Sasuke. “Now you have all the time you need to do the alemana properly. You turn slowly and don't focus on your feet but look around. Your feet know what they're doing.”

Sasuke felt offended. Of course his feet knew, and he had not been looking at them. “Why should I look around?” 

“There might be some attractive girls around. Or boys.”

Sasuke turned and looked. “I don't think so”, he said. 

Naruto could understand him. Sasuke overshadowed them all, boys and girls. 

“Well, that's the point”, the dance teacher continued. “You look around, you decide that none of them are as pretty as your friend, and you return to him.”

They tried. 

“Better. There's no reason to be shy! Look at all these girls and tell them: You may think you are pretty but I prefer to dance with my friend.”

Just be your usual arrogant self, Naruto thought. 

Sasuke still hesitated. “How shall I do this when I am supposed to be one of them?” he asked.

“You are being led, but you are still a man. Now try again, and you” - he turned to Naruto - “remain gentle.”

Raising his arm gently and in time so that Sasuke could turn around at leisure and have a look at the girls who were still struggling with their steps. In the mirror Naruto could see that Sasuke looked sufficiently arrogant and icy, but when he returned, laying his arm on Naruto's shoulder, he was all soft and almost smiling and hardly able to look into Naruto's face.

“You'll have to work on your expression, but at least you are looking at people now”, the dance teacher said. “Practise some more – we'll soon give you some music.” 

They did as told: Letting Sasuke go so that he could turn around and then catching him in his arms again and moving with him in some kind of not too close embrace – suddenly Naruto was in a trance and he could have gone on forever. Still the music stopped after some minutes and he had to let go.

“This is fun”, he said. “Let's go and have some ice-cream somewhere. You were the girl, so it's my treat.”


	32. Chapter 29: Rescuing Juugo

Sasuke accepted the invitation even though he was not pleased that Naruto thought that leading him with dancing gave him the right to treat him as a girl when the dance was over. He was even less pleased when the three girls Naruto had talked to during the break asked them whether they might do something together and Naruto invited them to join. He could have done without them, Sasuke thought, yet he did not want to drop out and leave Naruto to the girls. 

These last days he had often thought about the time when they had still been teammates in Team Seven. He should not have simply turned down Sakura's stupid request for a date then, he had now realized, but rather have accepted and invited Naruto to join, turning what Sakura had intended to be a tête-a-tête into some normal hanging out with friends. 

It would have been impossible then, as Naruto had been particularly jealous and annoying at the time. Now, however, he would not chicken out only because Naruto had invited some girls. He'd see that they would not lay hands on Naruto. Well, actually he had no idea what to do. Naruto might like the girls. He liked Sakura, didn't he? Dying after he had completed his revenge and knowing that Naruto would marry Sakura and be happy with her was the most realistic prospect for him, Sasuke – he had to consider himself lucky that Naruto had agreed to dance with him.

So while Sasuke was lost in his thoughts Naruto and the girls had discussed where to go for some ice-cream. Like football, ice-cream was an import from foreign countries, and it was sold at special places which only served ice-cream and perhaps some tea and coffee. (The latter was also an import.) They were popular among young people, as they were cheap, but if you wanted you could spend a lot of money on some extravagant bowls of fruit and ice-cream, complete with liquor and whipped cream. Naruto urged the girls to choose one of these. (Sasuke went for an espresso.) 

“Do you have a job that you can afford this?” one of the girls asked. 

“Sure I have”, Naruto answered. “Don't you?”

“I work as a cashier in a super-market, but it's only for a few hours a week and I need all of it for clothes.”

“That's why I invite you.”

“I used to have a job too”, the next girl said. “But I had to quit because it didn't leave me enough time for school.”

The third girl nodded, suggesting that she had taken the same decision. “What kind of job do you have?” she asked.

“I work as a waiter in a restaurant.”

“Oh, I used to do this too. It was quite lucrative because of the tips, but I was expected to stand in whenever someone was ill, and after I had said no a number of times because I had to work for school I was told that I did not need to come again as I was not reliable.”

“How do you manage?” the second girl asked. “Combining school and a job?” 

Naruto looked at her confusedly. “I don't go to school. I'm not a child, am I?”

Now the girls were confused.

“I used to go to school as a child, but I hated it.”

“But you have to go to school, haven't you? I mean, you don't get any job if you don't go to school.”

“What's wrong with being a waiter?” Naruto asked. 

“Well, it's okay, but anyone can do it”, the former waitress said. “For later you want a real job that earns you some real money and takes some qualifications, don't you?” 

“Sure”, Naruto said, thinking of his plan to become Hokage.

“And for this you have to go to school”, the girls concluded. 

Sasuke was listening to the conversation. He was quite content that Naruto had not managed to impress the girls as he had hoped. He was also glad that he had managed to stay out out of the conversation as he did not want to tell them that he did not go to school either. (Also, the girls seemed stupid and superficial to him.) 

They had begun to explain the local school system to Naruto, effectively silencing him. He was not able to follow them, the only thing he understood was that it was very complicated and very important. Only when they had finished he tried to reassume his usual confident attitude: “See you in a week!” he called, smiling and waving at them. They smiled and waved back, yet Sasuke was convinced that they were rather glad to leave. Well, he did not need them, did he?

They had seen less and less of Juugo these last days. He still existed, sleeping on the floor when they returned from work and sometimes, very rarely, they got up before he had left. 

A few times Sasuke had managed to talk to him: “Are you doing well?” he had asked. “Do you regret that we have to wait for Karin before we can resume our quest for that Blessed Realm?”

“It's okay”, Juugo had answered. “I'm fine. But if you will excuse me now: I have to play.”

Later Sasuke discovered that if he wanted to have any meaningful conversation with Juugo he had to ask him what he played: Then he'd get one story after the other about playing ball and playing cards, about playing in the forest and playing at the riverside, about finding treasures in the attic and building a log cabin in a tree.

He trusted that Juugo was happy and looking after himself, just as Karin and Suigetsu did, and his greatest worry was how he might persuade them all to leave this town, be it to find that legendary Blessed Realm or to return to Konoha, once Naruto had managed to come up with a decent plan to gain him revenge.

It happened to be on their day off that Juugo was again brought to their consciousness. The patron's daughter knocked at the door, telling them that two women were waiting for them in the restaurant, wanting to talk to them. When they arrived downstairs, neither Sasuke nor Naruto had any idea who they were. 

“Are you Juugo's friend?” one of them asked Naruto, who happened to be the first to come down the stairs. 

“I am”, he answered.

“I am”, Sasuke corrected him. 

“Is Juugo at home?” the woman continued, with a sense of urgency in her voice.

“No, he's somewhere outside, playing with his friends.”

Both women looked desperate.

“Why? What's the matter?”

“They should have been home by now. They should have been home two hours ago. We know they often forget the time but not for two hours and not when it's well after nightfall.”

“Juugo can look after himself, and he'll protect his friends too. I know him. He's a reliable companion.”

Now he remembered where he had seen the women before: At the festival they had sat next to him; they had been the mothers of the boys Juugo had taught how to juggle.

“He's very responsible for his age”, the woman said. “But nonetheless he's just a kid. Aren't you worried at all?” 

Concerned for his enemies and concerned for his little friends, Sasuke thought. Sometimes these last days he had been afraid that Juugo might end up killing some other child, but he had not the heart to tell him to stop seeing his new friends and had silenced his conscience by telling it that Juugo would not meet these kids if he did not trust himself to control his homicidal impulses.

“We've been looking everywhere”, the second mother said. “We've even alerted the police, but they told us to wait a bit longer and to ask ourselves whether there was no other place where they might be and where we had not looked. This is when we remembered that Juugo had told us that he was living in the attic of some restaurant with some friends of his, and we hoped to find them all here. Now I guess we will have to return to the police.”

“You want the police to hunt them down?” Sasuke asked. “They're your kids, aren't they?”

The women were as shocked at his words as he had been at theirs. 

“We'll help you”, Sasuke added quickly. “We'll find them before the police gets at them. Have you already looked for them in the patch of wood at the riverside?”

“You don't think they're there, do you? Not when it's all dark.”

“Juugo told me that they had been playing there recently. Don't worry, we'll find your kids and they'll all be fine.”

The women didn't seem convinced, but they accepted the offer. Sasuke told Naruto to fetch Karin; he himself wanted to stay with the women. He was curious about them: Never before had he met any females who did not immediately try to flirt with him. With these, there were no hidden glances, their minds were busy with their kids and when they talked it was only about them. Also, they always looked directly into his eyes. 

They got to the little forest and scanned the area just where the trees began, but there was no sign of any kids. It was futile to search under the foliage of the trees, even for Sasuke, as it was inkblack there. 

“They can't be there”, one of the women said. “They should have enough sense to return before it's impossible to see one's own hand.”

“They must have had an accident, or they've been kidnapped. We should go back to the police.”

“What can the police do which we can't?” Sasuke asked.

“For once, they have dogs and flashlights.”

Dogs might have been useful, he thought, and he should have thought of flashlights. It didn't matter, however. They had Karin, who was better than any dog. When she and Naruto finally arrived she just had to cast her jutsu and knew in which direction to look for the kids.

“How do you know?” one of the women asked.

“Female intuition”, Karin answered.

Both women were impressed, and they were even more impressed that both Sasuke and Naruto accepted as reliable information what Karin's “female intuition” had told her. (Naruto mostly because he trusted that Sasuke knew where to trust Karin.) 

They offered to fetch the kids by themselves but the two mothers insisted on coming with them. They were obviously scared and kept treading on twigs or getting burnt by nettles but they refused to stay behind. They were true mothers, after all, overcoming their fear to rescue their kids. They arrived at the tree where the children had built their log cabin, and after some calling, Juugo let down the stepladder. Sasuke climbed it first, followed by the two mothers, with Naruto as rearguard. He found two very tired little boys, tired but too scared to sleep, while Juugo was watching over them. 

“I told them you'd find us”, he said at the sight of Sasuke. “I told them not to worry.”

“You might have led them out of the woods yourself”, Sasuke replied. 

“They would not trust me to find the way.”

“You might have carried them.”

Juugo pouted. And blown up my wrong identity as a kid, his expression said. 

The two mothers arrived now on the platform too. Sasuke watched how their sons' expression changed from fear and exhaustion to joy and relief, and then again to the typical coolness of big boys who can look after themselves and don't need to be protected by their mothers. They would accept their mother's embraces but pretend that it was rather about comforting them than about being comforted.

On the ground Karin had waited for them, and they all got safely out of the woods.

“We'll have to tell the police that we found them”, one of the mothers said. 

Karin wished them good-bye, as she would have to get up early the next day, but Sasuke decided to accompany them. He was curious about the kind of police they might find in this town.

It turned out to be quite an unimpressive building, similar in size and style to the houses that surrounded it. He was told however to visit the head quarter in the center of town, which would be more to his satisfaction. 

In the reception hall they found a woman in uniform sitting behind a desk. She recognized the two mothers immediately. 

“So you've found your kids”, she said. “So that's good news. Next time you get home before your mothers get worried.”

“That's not possible”, one of the boys said in a very serious tone. “They always worry.”

“Well, then”, the policewoman said. “Don't hesitate to call us again when they're missing.”

They left the building.

“That's all?” Sasuke asked. “Won't there be any punishment?” 

The mothers were silent for a few seconds. 

“You're right, actually. You'll have to stay inside for the next week! No playing out of door, so that you learn to be back in time.”

The boys protested as if they had been sentenced to death and bargained until they were down to three days. 

“Can I still come to visit?” Juugo asked when the argument was decided. 

“You may”, the women answered after some consideration, knowing full well that this would make their sons' punishment even less harsh.


	33. Chapter Thirty: Letting go

The two mothers accompanied Juugo, Sasuke and Naruto back to Naruto's place and Naruto to decided to invite them all to have some tea before they parted. (The kids were allowed some coke, even though the mothers disapproved of it.) He looked around: The room was fuller now than when Karin and Suigetsu had still been living with them, and he realized that this was how he liked it, even though he knew now from experience that even he needed some time to withdraw and that this was difficult when his little flat was full of guests.

While he was busy preparing tea the mothers looked around too. 

“Is that your family on the photo?” they asked Sasuke when they had spotted the picture on the sideboard.

“It is.”

“They look nice. Juugo has told us that you fled from some evil place where you were kept prisoners for several years. Your parents must have missed you – do you intend to return? They surely long for you.”

“Surely not”, Sasuke answered. “They're dead.” 

“Oh. I'm sorry.”

A silence of several minutes followed. Naruto wondered about the woman's tactlessness. Was it not obvious that this was a memorial picture? 

“Did it happen recently?” the other woman asked.

“No, it was quite a few years ago.”

“How old were you then?” 

“Seven.”

“You lost them both at the same time?” 

“Yes.”

“It must have been terrible for you.”

“Sure it was.” 

He remembered how he had returned home and found everyone lying dead on the streets of the Uchiha compound – the ghetto, as he now knew. He did not want to think of it at the moment – the memory still hurt, and still held the danger of making him fall into that black abyss of pain. He could not afford it at the moment.

“And since then you have looked after yourself.”

“I have.”

Again there was a silence of several minutes. Naruto served tea, hoping that this would distract the women and stop them asking questions that did not provide any help but only brought new pain to Sasuke. Did they not sense it themselves? 

Indeed, after they had taken their first sip of tea they changed subject: “You know, we have long wondered how Juugo is living”, one of them said. “He's spending most of his days at our place, or at least playing with our sons, and leaves only for the night.” She looked around. “It's nice but rather small. Where does Juugo sleep?” 

“On the floor”, Sasuke replied, knowing that this was not a good answer. When they had arrived it had seemed appropriate that Juugo slept on the floor, just as Karin and Suigetsu did, while Sasuke got the place in Naruto's bed in order not to get molested by Karin (and for various other reasons he did not want to think about too explicitly at the moment.) Now that Karin and Suigetsu had moved out, however, it seemed a bit weird that the child (who was not really a child, after all, Sasuke reminded himself) was sleeping on the floor.

“It's okay”, Juugo said. “I have a mattress and a sleeping-bag.”

“We have been travelling in the wilderness for several months”, Sasuke added. “We are fully equipped.”

“But in the long run you need a bed, Juugo”, the woman said.

She drank some more tea. There was no space for another bed, Naruto thought. Surely the two women saw this themselves.

“We have thought of inviting Juugo to live at our place”, the other mother said. “We have asked about his parents when he began to play with our kids and he told us that he was a fugitive who has come to this town with a bunch of friends and was staying at another friend's place, meaning that he has no grown-up people to care for him.”

Both women looked first at Naruto, then at Sasuke.

“Juugo speaks highly of you, but he cannot stay at this place. It's too small, and you don't look after him properly, leaving him to his own devices and not caring where he spends his days.”

“I care for him”, Sasuke said defensively. “I see that he's happy. Should I have forbidden him to play with your sons?” 

He felt confused by the two mothers' suggestion. Rationally he knew that allowing Juugo to move over to their place would only make official the current state of affairs, yet the way the two women had worded their offer, suggesting that Juugo was not well off with Naruto and him hurt his pride.

“What would you have done if he had not turned up in the morning?” the woman continued.

“Searched for him. What else? I am his friend. I just have more confidence in his ability to look after himself.”

“How old are you?” the other woman took over.

“Seventeen.”

“Sorry, but that's far too young to judge whether Juugo can look after himself. You are too young to take responsibility for a child. Juugo likes you, and I am sure you care for him and do your best, but it's just too much for a teenager as yourself.”

“We've been considering calling the police if Juugo is not allowed to leave”, the first woman joined the argument again.

Sasuke gasped. “The police? I've done nothing wrong, have I?”

Of course he could fight the police if they tried to separate him from Juugo, most of all if they were like the policewoman they had met this evening. But he preferred not to have to fight, and he preferred not to be confronted by the police at all. He preferred to be allowed to live peacefully and anonymously in this place.

“Don't worry. They won't arrest you. They'll just make sure that Juugo will live at a place where he's properly cared for.”

“Don't they have any real work to do? Like hunting down criminals?” 

“Is seeing that children in town are doing fine no real work?”

Again the other mother intervened. “He's staying at our place all the time even now. He only returns to you in order to sleep. And it's not that you'll lose him altogether. He will stay in town after all. You can visit him whenever you like.”

She had a point, of course. For some seconds Sasuke was silent and considered the woman's words, then he asked Juugo himself. “Do you want to live with them?”

Juugo looked into his eyes, faintly smiling, then he lowered his head and nodded.

“Well, then”, Sasuke said. “I want you to be happy.”

So he's moving out too, he thought and it's only Naruto and me left.

“I know you must be sad, parting from Juugo”, the gentler of the two mothers (the one who had not threatened to call the police) tried to comfort him. “You have carried a great burden, caring not only for yourself but for Juugo too at an age when you still should have parents or other grown-ups to take responsibility for you. You made a great job of it: You can be proud of yourself. But it's over now, you can let go and let others look after him. You can see him as often as you like but you are no longer responsible for him. You can focus on building yourself a life in this town, and if you need any help, just come and ask.”

Sasuke felt moved by her words and was hardly able to answer. Something resolved within him, but he did not want to dissolve, he wanted to stand his ground against these women. 

Naruto put his arm around him: “I am looking after him”, he said. “We don't need any help from your side.”

“Glad to hear it”, the woman said. “Anyway: Sunday we want to give a welcome party for Juugo: You're invited too.”

They accepted the invitation. It had got late by now, and the women decided that it was time to leave. Their sons had fallen asleep and had to be woken up. Juugo announced that he would stay with Sasuke and Naruto and move over only on Sunday, which was considered a good solution by everyone as it gave Sasuke time to get accustomed to the fact that Juugo would leave him too. He made up his mind to spend more time with him to make up for the days when he had only cared about being with Naruto and forgotten about Juugo. He really cared for Juugo, more than for any other of his teammates, and he regretted that he had not shown it more. 

When the three mothers and their sons had left Naruto prepared another pot of tea for Juugo, Sasuke and himself. He felt weird: Sad and angry and jealous at the same time. He knew that he should be glad that Juugo had found a place where he was well looked after and that they would now be alone so that he no longer had to be jealous of Sasuke's team. Still he was jealous: He had felt left out during the whole evening. Again it had been all about Sasuke, just as when they had still been at the academy. With this stupid picture of his family he had made the two women pity him and offer him their help, just as the regulars in the restaurant had offered their help with that stupid shrine Sasuke was building. (It was almost finished now and had become really beautiful. Naruto suspected that Sasuke had used his Sharingan on the craftsmen.) 

Tomorrow he'd go to the book store, Naruto made up his mind, get a book on the history of Konoha with coloured illustrations, cut out the most beautiful picture of the Yondaime he could find, and if anyone asked about it he'd say: This is my father, the fourth Hokage of Konoha. He sacrificed himself for the sake of the village just after my birth, so there's no picture of him smiling at me as a father should, just this one which I got from a history book.

“Now you have a family”, Sasuke said to Juugo. “Are you happy with them?” 

Juugo nodded. 

“They'll treat you as a child”, Sasuke continued, thinking that by now he had come to think of Juugo as a child too. “Is that okay to you?”

Juugo nodded again.

“And those fits of murderous intent you used to get? What of them? I don't want to have to answer to these women for the death of one of their kids.”

“They are much weaker than they used to be”, Juugo answered. “I can control them now.”

“They are nice, I think”, Sasuke went on. “They really care about their kids, venturing into the darkness even though they were scared. They care for you too.”

“They do.”

“They were tactless”, Naruto intervened. “Asking you stupid questions about your family and then accusing you of not properly looking after Juugo.”

He poured tea and passed Sasuke and Juugo their cups.

“They mean well”, Sasuke said. “They are not used to children without parents, so their questions were a bit awkward, but they are sincere in their desire to help, most of all Juugo, of course, but me too. In Konoha, all I heard was: You have to be brave now! and: Now it's up to you to uphold the honour of your clan! Here people acknowledge it's been hard, and they offer help.”

“Yes, here they all make a lot of fuzz about you when they see that picture. In Konoha, there are still a lot of war orphans, and they're expected to deal with it.”

A deadly silence followed. Naruto knew that his words had been a mistake, but he did not feel like apologizing.

“And it's not true that in Konoha no one cared. We cared, for example. We went to search for you when you were gone missing, just as these women went to search for their kids.”

Now he had the upper hand again. Sasuke looked troubled.

“I had not lost my way in the darkness”, he said. “I had left because I wanted to. I was not a helpless child as these are. I knew the way.”

“These kids thought that they knew the way too. They stayed outside even though it was getting dark, thinking they could deal with it, but they could not.”

There were some seconds of silence before Sasuke answered: “I could deal with Orochimaru.”

“But not with the darkness. Even now I sometimes wonder whether you have found the way back.”

This time it took Sasuke even longer to find an answer. Naruto triumphed: Now he had cornered him.

“I have promised to stay with you until you have found a workable plan to make Danzou pay for his crimes without getting killed ourselves, so that we can both return to Konoha. I have apologized for trying to kill you in the Valley of the End. What else do you want?”

Now it was Naruto who had to think before he answered. He knew that he had to give in, all the more as Sasuke had admitted his defeat.

“I want you to admit that I care well for you. I want you to promise that you won't run off to these women, just as Juugo is running off to them, just because they are grown-up women and locals and know their way around this place.”

Juugo looked just as shocked as Sasuke.

“They'll look after him, better than you and I can. I care for him, that's why I let him go.”

Naruto was silent, and Sasuke continued, somewhat calmer: “But I'll stay with you. I'm seventeen, I don't need to be looked after. Besides they are not interested in me. They are lesbians, if you haven't noticed.”

“I have noticed”, Naruto said. “But that's not what I meant.”

He'd insist, Sasuke realized, even if it meant that they had to stay awake for the whole night. “I'll stay with you as you care well for me. Even though I don't need any looking after.”

He opened his arms, hoping that Naruto would finally accept, and Naruto came and embraced him, holding him tightly, caressing his back and resting his head on Sasuke's shoulder. “I have cared for you for all these years”, he said. 

Sasuke cautiously returned his caresses. Being physically close to Naruto made him feel warm and dizzy, but he did not want to show it. Slowly Naruto calmed down. 

“Anyway, since when have you been seventeen?” he asked. 

Sasuke had to count: “Since in ten days.”


	34. Chapter Thirty-One: Weird

Three days with Juugo were left to them, and during these three days Sasuke could observe how Juugo had thoroughly adopted his new persona as a twelve-year-old boy: Even when Naruto was not around he stuck to it unless Sasuke asked some serious questions that demanded Juugo to answer as a grown-up, but even with them, Juugo increasingly sounded like a serious twelve-year-old child. 

He's always been like this, Sasuke thought, a child trapped in the body of a grown-up man, and a huge one in the bargain. It had to be expected, he thought, after having spent years in Orochimaru's dungeons. He remembered that this was what Danzou had had in mind for Naruto, and shivered at the thought of how this would have affected him and stifled his development, and was glad that both Juugo and Naruto were with him here in Music Town – at the moment they were climbing around in the ruins of the old fortress, pretending they were preparing to defend the town against some evil rogue nins. (In their efforts to spend more time with Juugo both Sasuke and Naruto had begun to show him the touristy places of Music Town they had avoided after Sasuke's decision to stay.) Naruto had to catch up on his childhood too, Sasuke thought, but he was glad that he was sixteen and looked like it, and that he would return to behaving like it (more or less) once he had finished playing with Juugo. 

They also introduced Juugo to football, or Naruto thought he would do so, but it turned out that Juugo had already begun to learn to play, and also happened to be a fan of the team Inner Center was playing against on that afternoon, which led to some tension between him and Naruto. It got even worse when Inner Center lost and Juugo kept teasing Naruto about it. Sasuke had not known that it was possible for Naruto to be in such a bad mood.

He had come to enjoy football in his own way. He always took his book with rules with him to check whether the referee's decisions were correct. He had discovered that lack of knowledge of the rules let the referee lose all respect but that knowledge of the rules was not enough to gain him the respect of players and spectators. He also had to see everything that was going on and not let himself be intimidated. Sasuke did not hesitate to use his Sharingan to check the referee's decisions, but even more he loved to watch the summaries of the matches on TV, particularly the repetitions in slow motion. (They always showed them in the restaurant.)

Just on this evening, however, he got into a serious row with Naruto because Inner Center had lost one-zero because of a penalty. It had been a rather obvious affair in Sasuke's opinion, but Naruto kept contradicting him, and when Sasuke actually opened his book and pointed out the rule that should have clarified it, Naruto accused him of being a bad fan and not loyal to his team. Apparently it was easier for Naruto to deal with Juugo's teasing than with Sasuke's dry and serious insistence on the rules, and then Juugo changed sides, claiming that the penalty had not been correct and that by right Inner Center should not have lost (even though the quality of their game meant that they deserved the defeat.) 

Sasuke was enraged at Juugo's lack of loyalty, and turned his anger against the regulars of the restaurant (all fans of Inner Center) by explaining to them, too, that the penalty had been correct. In the end the patron's daughter asked him to follow her to her office.

“You sell beer to our customers”, she said. “You don't discuss football with them.”

He returned to the front room, humiliated, no longer contradicting the regulars when they complained that the referee was stupid. 

One of their excursions during these last days Juugo spent with them was initiated by Juugo himself, and it was to the local onsen. He told them that it was different from traditional onsen in that it was not only a hot spring for bathing but also contained a swimming-pool, a diving-board and a really long really fast slide, as Juugo put it.

Sasuke hesitated whether he should join. He had developed a habit of not looking at Naruto when Naruto was naked, mainly because he suspected that Naruto did not like being looked at. On the other hand, he liked looking at Naruto and going to the onsen might give him some opportunity to do so without being noticed. In the end he just did not have any viable excuse not to join. 

When they arrived at the entrance they discovered that the local onsen was not divided into two sections, for men and women, but three: family was the third one, and this was what the man at the counter suggested to them. 

Naruto protested: “We are men, not children”, he said.

The man at the counter shrugged. “If you think so.”

It was in the morning when most grown-up people were at work so that in the changing-room they got the impression that they were the only guests. They were mistaken, however: in the main room they ran into a couple who was having oral sex, one of the men sitting on the edge of the pool, the other in the water between his partner's legs. Naruto could not see many details, just enough to be shocked and leave immediately. Juugo looked surprisingly unmoved, not as if he had stumbled into something he had not expected, and Sasuke did not show any emotion, as always. Naruto did not care – he was busy with his own surprise that people would dare to misbehave in such a gross way. He looked around, and a staff member spotted them and seeing the expression on Naruto's face he asked whether something was wrong.

“There's two guys in there, sucking each other's cocks”, Naruto said. 

“I'll have a look”, the man answered calmly as if Naruto had complained about the temperature of the water. When they reentered the men had stopped their activity. 

“You are not at home”, the staff member told them. “We still have underage guests here.” He turned to the boys: “Just tell if there are any more problems.”

Naruto was still confused about the incident and how it had been dealt with. Juugo was unmoved, just watching what was going on. Sasuke seemed rather annoyed. 

“Was this necessary?” he asked when they had found places for themselves. “Now you got these guys into trouble.”

It was not the reaction Naruto had expected. 

“When I arrived you told me to get used to it”, Sasuke continued. Seems you're in need of some getting used to it of your own.”

“I told you to get used to couples making out on the lawn of Heroes' Park. Not to people having sex in public.”

Sasuke shrugged. He regretted that he had followed Naruto outside, though of course he knew that the men would have stopped anyway as soon as they had got aware that they were being watched. Now they were sitting at the opposite end of the pool, inside the water, talking silently and behaving perfectly normal. If Sasuke would not have seen them having oral sex a few minutes before he would have thought them mere friends.

“Don't be prudish”, he told Naruto. “You are a man, aren't you, not a child? I've seen much worse than this at Orochimaru's place.”

“Yeah, Karin told me. You were having sex all the time as there was nothing else to do.”

“What? I was not having sex. I was training to get stronger while you were having fun on your journeys with Jiraiya. Besides, who do you think should I have had sex with?”

Naruto shrugged. Sasuke was contradicting himself, wasn't he? “Did you not just say that you saw far worse?”

“I saw far worse but I didn't participate, that's a difference.”

Naruto felt relieved. He believed Sasuke – had he not shoved away Orochimaru's arm when they had found him at his lair? It was unlikely that he had allowed him to touch him in a more intimate manner. Naruto was also glad that Sasuke had not had any sex with random strangers. 

“I watched Kabuto and Orochimaru having sex with each other, that's all.”

The two men on the other end of the pool had ceased to talk and were listening to the boys instead. (It was impossible not to listen, as both were rather loud.) Now they intervened: 

“They made you watch them while they were having sex?” one of them asked. 

“They didn't make me. I watched because I wanted.”

“You're really perverted”, Naruto said, surprised at discovering this hitherto unknown side of Sasuke. “Getting off on watching Kabuto and Orochimaru having sex.”

“I did not get off on watching them”, Sasuke replied. “They were disgusting.” 

Actually it had been a bit more complicated but Naruto didn't have to know.

“Then why did you watch?” 

“To humiliate Kabuto. He hated that I was watching.”

“It's still perverted.” 

“I was bored and I needed to have some fun. And later, I had even more fun when Kabuto tried to order me to do something, or to tell me off for not paying respect to Orochimaru: I just had to look at him to tell him: Now you pretend you are great and important, but some hours ago I saw you on your hands and knees.”

“How old were you then?” the other of the two listeners asked, sounding quite disturbed.

Sasuke shrugged. “Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen.”

“They should have locked you out. At that age you are not fully able to understand what you see.”

“There was not much to understand. Whenever Orochimaru was in a bad mood, criticizing Kabuto for everything and nothing, Kabuto would ask him whether he needed to relax, and then lick his cock or offer himself for anal sex. He did it to humour Orochimaru, to keep his favours, to remain his principal subordinate. He hated it, though, he was completely straight and found it humiliating, most of all when I watched.”

Naruto felt weird: This was not Sasuke as he knew him. He would not have thought that he would have enjoyed watching Kabuto and Orchimaru have sex, nor that he would talk openly about it. Maybe it was the hot water that made him lose control. Now he got out of it to sit on the edge of the pool, showing off his muscular chest. What did he think he was doing? Naruto followed him, sitting on the edge of the pool too, ready to intervene if anything should happen. Juugo stayed inside: He watched without commenting. 

“Still it was not a healthy environment to grow up in”, the first of the two men continued. 

Sasuke thought for a few seconds before he answered. “Well, not really.”

(Naruto was content to hear it.) 

“Did they try to molest you too?” the other man continued.

“They tried.”

“You never talked about it”, Naruto said.

“Why do you think did I develop my full body chidori?”

Unwanted images appeared in Naruto's mind. He pushed them away.

“What's that?” the man asked. 

“I can make my whole body buzzle with electricity so that everyone who tries to touch me gets hit by an electric stroke.

“Like if you rub your feet on a plastic carpet?” 

“A bit, just much stronger. I can't show you here, it's too wet and too dangerous.”

Naruto had a vision of Sasuke standing up and presenting himself in all his beauty to the two guys, surrounded by the miniature bolts of lightning of his chidori. He was glad that Sasuke refrained from it. 

“Have you considered sueing these guys now that you got away?” the other man continued.

“What's sueing?” Sasuke asked back.

“You go to the police, explain to them what these men did to you, and then the police go and arrest them so that they can be put to trial.”

This time Sasuke hesitated even longer before he answered. “No, I didn't. I killed them. That is, I killed only the boss. The other was not dangerous.”

It was not the exact truth, as he had not killed but absorbed Orochimaru, but Sasuke considered the exact truth too complicated for these men. They were quite shocked as it was.

“You killed him? And you didn't get into any trouble for it?”

“Why should I? He was a major criminal.”

“You did not even have to prove that you killed him in self-defense?” 

“No. Everyone was glad that he was gone.”

The men were silent for some minutes: They were not used to teenagers with blood on their hands sitting with them in the onsen and chatting animatedly. 

“You are not from her, are you?” one of them asked. 

“No.”

“I guess there are different rules in the ninja countries.”

Sasuke hesitated too with his answer, realizing that again he had run into a point where Music Town was fundamentally different from the world he knew. “They are”, he said.

Again there was a silence before the men continued. “Well, we hope you like it here.”

“Oh, we do”, Sasuke answered, this time without any hesitation and completely sincere.

The men got out of the water. “We've got some work to do”, they said. “Have fun boys! See you later!”

Sasuke followed them with his eyes, regretting that they left. Naruto felt rather relieved. 

“Why did you tell them all this?” he asked. 

Sasuke thought before he answered. “You are right. I should not have told them that I killed Orochimaru. People are different here.”

“Yeah, you scared them.”

“Maybe we'll meet them again. They were nice.”

“They were weird”, Naruto replied. “Having sex in public and then pretending to be shocked when you told them about Kabuto and Orochimaru.”

He himself was shocked – it still did not fit his image of Sasuke that he would have enjoyed watching Kabuto and Orochimaru having sex. He tried not to imagine too many details of what Sasuke might have seen.

“You are weird, that you don't see the difference.”

“What do you mean?”

“They are both gay, and they're in love.”

“Sure I saw it”, Naruto answered. “It's no excuse for having sex in public, or for watching them.”

Sasuke felt caught. 

“You are weird too”, Naruto said. “Climbing out of the water and presenting yourself to the men as if you wanted to do them a favour.”

For some seconds Sasuke wondered if he should consider this a compliment.

“You climbed out of the water too”, he said.

“Someone has to look after you.”

Naruto was aware that Sasuke did not need any protection against a pair of civilians, still with him losing control as he had he felt the need to see that nothing happened.

“They're together”, Sasuke said. “Why should they take any interest in me?” 

“They still might enjoy looking at you.”

It was a compliment, Sasuke decided. Suddenly he felt embarrassed by the way Naruto was looking at him and got back into the water. Naruto followed, and soon after this they left.

“Did you enjoy your stay?” the man at the counter asked them when they passed him.

“Sure we did”, Sasuke answered.

“It was okay”, Naruto added.

Juugo spoke up only when they were back at home.

“Next time I want to go to the family section”, he said. “there's the slide, the diving board, and the pretty girls.”

Naruto understood what he had missed.

“We aren't allowed there”, Sasuke said. “You may go there with your future foster mothers, but we may not. We are men.”

“I go there when it's only me and my friends. We play and swim and look at the girls.”

“You don't stare at girls”, Sasuke said. Suddenly he remembered that Juugo was not twelve but eighteen... 

“Sure I do. Everyone does, even grown-up men. They stare back, anyway. You only go to the men's section if are not interested in this.” 

A/N: I feel a little insecure about this chapter... For a long time, I knew about onsen only from Naruto, then I looked it up at Wikipedia, and then I happened to see one in a movie from Thailand I saw during the Gay-Lesbian festival I mentioned some weeks ago. I know that in all likelihood I got most things wrong, and my only excuse is that “Music Town” is not a real place but a town I invented for the purpose of my story. 

Else I can say that the whole scene got inspired by one of the Coming-Out stories I read in order to “research” for this story. There the protagonists have sex (well, hand-jobs) in the men's sauna. 

So I will ask all Japanese readers and Japan-based readers and others who care to forgive me. I know hardly anything about Japanese culture, and only after I became a fan of Naruto I began to read about in order not to be a complete idiot.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Two: Dancing – not having sex

So this is how the locals live, Naruto thought when Sasuke, Juugo and himself arrived at the house of Juugo's future fostermothers. It looked quite normal, a simple house just the right size for a single family (though perhaps a bit small given the number of children running around), with a large garden behind the house where the women had put up benches and tables for their guests. 

He got aware that in all the time he had spent at Music Town he had never been invited to the home of anyone who lived here, and how strange it was that it was just the silent superpower kid of Sasuke's team who had gained him his first invitation. He wondered about the other members of Sasuke's team, Karin and Suigetsu, whether they had already found friends in Music Town. They had been invited to Juugo's welcome party too, but neither of them had time: Suigetsu had a gig somewhere, and Karin was giving a seminar. 

So it was only Sasuke and himself among a bunch of middle-aged lesbian women. It was as if Juugo's future foster mothers were only friends with lesbians, and as if their kids were all friends with each other, having almost no contact to kids from normal families. Naruto watched the women embracing and kissing each other on the cheeks (no making out in public, which he was rather glad about after the shock in the onsen), giving small presents to Juugo and patting him on the head. Again Naruto felt left out, even though he was genuinely happy for Sasuke's little friend, who was beaming and looking very embarrassed at the same time, not used to being in the focus of attention. 

Soon he withdrew with the other boys to play football, and Naruto followed their invitation to join them. He had never played before, only watched, and the boys put him to shame with their skills at handling the ball with their feet. 

Sasuke did not join though the boys had asked him too. He was curious about these lesbians: Contrary to what Naruto thought he did not hate females in general, he just felt uncomfortable when they were trying to flirt with him. He hoped that here he might meet some who stayed rational while talking to him, yet to his disappointment they were not interested in talking to him at all, and none of them cared to draw him into a conversation. So he felt rather lost on his bench, listening to the women's talk, which was mostly about their jobs and their kids and also some gossip about other lesbians who weren't present at the party. It was friendly gossip, however, friendly, caring people telling other friendly people about common friends. This one had found a new partner, that one had finally broken up with her girl-friend, this one had got a new job, that one had fallen ill. All in all, their conversation was not much different from that of other women, with the exception that hardly any men were mentioned. They lived in a world of women.

One of the smaller kids tugged at his sleeve, wanting to sit on his lap so that he could reach the cookies on the table. Sasuke ended up reading a picture book to him, and then some other books to a couple of slightly older children. It was not what he had expected when he had accepted the invitation, and it also made him sad, as he had to think of Itachi and how he read books to him when he, Sasuke, had been very small. Later a man appeared, the brother of one of the lesbians and father of some of the kids (apparently some of them were from conventional families). Feeling as much out of place as Sasuke he sat down next to him and made some smalltalk, so that all in all the day ended nicely for Sasuke. 

It was a weird feeling that evening when they went to bed, knowing that Juugo had left them and that it was only Naruto and himself now. Anything might happen, Sasuke thought, but then both of them were tired and fell asleep rather quickly after going to bed. 

What really happened was the next dance lesson. Sasuke looked forward to it, Naruto had mixed feelings, though he did not dread it as much as he had dreaded the first one. When he was honest with himself he had to admit that he had enjoyed the actual dancing with Sasuke and was looking forward to it, but that he still felt uncomfortable about the other teenagers' looks and Sasuke's oblivion to the general disapproval of their dancing together, leading to completely inappropriate behaviour. Normally Naruto would laugh when Sasuke made a fool of himself, but being his friend and dance partner meant that the situation was embarrassing for him, Naruto, as well. 

Maybe this time Sasuke would behave in a way that did not earn him any awkward questions – questions that he, Naruto, not Sasuke would have to answer, Naruto thought while he watched Sasuke's preparations before they left. They consisted mainly in applying generous amounts of gel to his hair. (Naruto did not prepare, he just went as he was. Most boys did.)

In the entrance hall of the dance school Naruto felt even worse than the week before: Now people knew that Sasuke and himself were not friends who had come together to get hooked up with some of the girls. He looked boldly at the other teenagers, smiling and challenging them, while Sasuke had again turned into his normal arrogant mood where he ignored everyone around him. Naruto was crazy: Why did he not support him in returning the stares they got? 

Looking around, Naruto discovered that last week's assistant dance teacher was missing and that instead there was a woman on high heels in a tight short dress with short hair and perfect make-up. Obviously she was not a student but a teacher. She was surrounded by a bunch of girls (not the ones who had had ice-cream with them the week before) and as soon as she saw the two boys she approached them, the girls following her.

“I wanted to ask whether you couldn't reconsider whether it's not possible for you to split up”, she said. “These girls' boy-friends broke up with them so that they're now without partner and we have a large surplus of girls. Won't you help us out?” 

Sasuke stared at them blankly. “It's them who got deserted by their partners, not me.”

He took Naruto's hand. 

“Still you might help us out. As it's now, there'll always be some five or six girls sitting around, waiting to be asked to dance. They have paid to learn to dance and for this you actually have to dance, not just to watch. We need you to split up.”

“I have not paid for dancing with a girl”, Sasuke said. 

“You have paid to learn to dance, not for being allowed to dance with your own partner all the time. The others have to swap too.”

(It was true, Naruto remembered. They had been asked to swap partners, and the two of them had been the only ones to be exempted from it, as no other boy could be expected to dance with Sasuke.) 

The male dance teacher had joined them by now. “Come on”, he said. “They're girls, not some slimy green monsters, and you don't even have to have sex with them, just dance.”

Everyone looked at Sasuke, waiting for him to give in. As if they knew that he was the principal problem, Naruto thought.

“Come on”, he said now too. “We'll be separated for two hours. We'll survive it.”

He regretted immediately what he had said: Sasuke's face went blank, and his position changed as if her were a puppet whose threads had been cut or entangled. Naruto wished that he could take his word back, but it was impossible now. 

“Now take one of these ladies and practise the rumba with them”, the female dance teacher said.

Naruto took the hand of the girl next to him and led her to the dance floor. From the corner of his eye he saw that Sasuke offered his hand to another girl and that she accepted. She must think herself lucky, Naruto thought, dancing with the prettiest boy in the room, but in a few minutes she'll realize that dancing with someone who thinks of you as a slimy green monster is not enjoyable at all.

He kept turning aorund to see how Sasuke was doing with the girl, not noticing that his own partner found this behaviour rather irritating. Sasuke did unexpectedly well to Naruto's disappointment, smiling and being as gentle as well as he could, even though her light touch on his shoulders made him feel uncomfortable. When the music had faded he led her back to her chair, thanking her as a man was supposed to. She blushed and thanked him in her turn, and he felt annoyed and decided not to ask her again. He considered sitting down next to Naruto while they were waiting for the next dance to be explained, but seeing Naruto next to his partner he decided against it. They'd survive being separated for two hours, Naruto had said – now let him see how he'd bear it. He, Sasuke, would manage, he'd not cause any drama with his female partners and show Naruto that he could do without his protection. 

They learnt English Waltz, and practised the steps for quite some time without partner, which came as a relief to Sasuke even though he got bored rather quickly. The girl he ended up with (he had randomly asked one, not caring whether she was pretty or not) turned out to hold him a bit too close to his taste, but he put up with it. He put up with the dance altogether – again it was merely moving in a rectangle while embracing each other. It was what most of the boys were after, he realized – not him, however: even though he enjoyed holding Naruto in his arms, he really wanted to learn to dance and longed for the other version of English Waltz, the one that actually looked like dancing. It got a bit better when they learnt to turn, only that his partner always moved before he gave a signal and that she insisted on moving backwards instead of sideways when she had to make room for him. After some time the dance teacher came to help them, trying to persuade her to relax and allow herself to be led. Naruto had not been that stubborn, Sasuke thought. The dance teacher made him lead him to show the girl how she should move - it felt weird, dancing with a man who was not Naruto, yet also fascinating. It did not help, however: When Sasuke tried again to dance with the girl, she again moved backwards. The dance teacher left them as he had to help other couples too, and Sasuke was glad when the music was over and he could leave the girl.

When the break began he sought the dance teacher as he wanted to ask him some questions.

“Where's the other dance teacher?” he began with the easiest one. “The man who taught us a week ago? Will he be back next week?”

“Probably not”, the dance teacher answered. “He's no professional dance teacher. She is. He's just my boy-friend and likes to dance too, so he stood in for her when last week she did not have time. You don't like her?”

“No.”

“Because she's a woman?” 

“Because she made us split up.”

“I see.”

There was a pause of several seconds, then Sasuke continued with a question that was even more important to him.

“Why do you dance with a woman if you are gay?”

“She's been my dance partner for more than twenty years. I've known her far longer than my boy-friend, longer actually than I've known that I am gay.”

This explained something, Sasuke thought, though it raised new questions.

“We've been quite successful at tournaments, and now we've founded this dance school. It's practical: Knowing that we'll never be lovers. If you fall in love with your business partner, or found a business with your lover, there's always the danger of breaking up, and then you lose both your love and your occupation.”

Breaking up had never been part of Sasuke's idea of love. He had heard stories of people who had broken up when he had listened to the lesbians at Juugo's welcome party, but as far as Sasuke had understood this happened only to people who had chosen extremely badly. He could not see why the fear of breaking up might hinder a person from making their lover also their partner in business.

“Don't you prefer to dance with your friend?” he asked. 

The dance teacher hesitated before he answered. “Sure I enjoy dancing with him. But I enjoy dancing with my colleague too. It's just different.” 

Sasuke understood that he did not want to go further into detail.

“You're not from here, are you?” the dance teacher asked now in his turn. 

“No.”

“How long have you been living here?”

“For a few weeks.”

“I understand.”

“What do you understand?”

The dance teacher took some time to think before he began to explain: “I've heard there exist a bunch of weird rumours in the ninja countries, that we are some kind of fairy-tale place where gays swim like fish in water, showing their affection as freely as anyone else, but in fact it's not that easy. Sure a lot of things have changed during the last twenty years, but there are still a lot of prejudices and reservations when it comes to gays, and a dance class with a bunch of teenagers who are still busy figuring out whether they are men or a new species of apes is one of the worst places that you could have chosen for your coming-out. So you must understand my colleague: She means well and she does not want you to run into problems with the other boys.”

“It's considerate of her to think of protecting me, but I don't need that kind of protection”, Sasuke said haughtily. “Anyway, what's a coming-out?”

“It means to admit openly both to other people and to yourself that you're gay.”

Sasuke pondered the man's words. There had been some silent understanding between the two of them, yet it still felt weird to hear it explicitely: You're gay. Silently he tried it for himself: I'm gay. It didn't feel right yet, even though he knew that it was true.

“So what is a good place?” he asked.

“Somewhere where you can meet other gay men”:

It made sense, Sasuke thought. “The men's section of the onsen?”

“That's where you go if you are looking for a one-night stand.”

“What's that?” 

“Sex for one night without any attachment. You leave after breakfast, at the latest, and never see each other again.”

It took Sasuke some seconds in the process in the information.

“You do that in the onsen?” 

“Oh, no, they don't serve breakfast there. That's just where you find a partner for the night. There are other places too. But I don't suppose that this is what you're looking for.”

“No.” Sasuke felt revolted by the idea. “I thought you did not do this here. I thought you were truly in love.”

“Well, that's what everyone longs for”, the dance teacher said cautiously. “But it doesn't always work out.”

Again Sasuke understood that the man did not want to expand further on the subject. 

“You should look for a place where you can hang out with other gay men, make friends with them and, maybe, find your true love. That's good first step for coming out. There you will also find support for the further steps. And, also, if you want some advice, I think you should talk to your friend as soon as there is a good opportunity.”

They looked at Naruto, who was standing in queue to buy drinks, talking to some other boys.

“I can make you an offer”, the dance teacher said. “You are talented and ambitious. This is not the best dance class for you. You may change to another class, only with same-sex couples, a training group for tournaments, where you are not slowed down by people who are not interested in dancing and only want to find a partner.”

“A tournament group?” Sasuke asked. “We've just started.”

“There's a beginners' class at tournaments. You've good chances at succeeding there. It's what you want, isn't it” 

“Sure.”

“Try to persuade your friend to remain your partner. He's got talent too. Tell him it's just dancing, not having sex.”


	36. Chapter Thirty-Three: The girls are not from Konoha

Naruto was glad that he was allowed to dance with girls, not because he hated dancing with Sasuke (he did not) but because he no longer stood out and could pretend now that he was just like the other teenagers. He danced with as many girls as he could, asking them for their names and making smalltalk about the dancing and the weather and whether they preferred the new female dance teacher to last week's male one, hoping that they would not ask which school he went to (most times he was lucky.) 

Most girls regretted when they had to part. “You dance well”, they said. “With you, my feet just know where to go.”

Naruto thanked them, beaming: getting complimented by girls was something he could get used to. Still dancing with them did not prove to be as enjoyable as he had thought it would be, and he wasn't in the least as eager as the other boys who looked around for pretty girls even when they were still with their previous partner and could not wait to ask the girl of their choice lest someone else should be quicker than them. Others simply pretended to ignore when they were told to change partners and stuck with the girl they were dancing with, happy they had found a partner they liked.

Naruto always changed, as none of the girls managed to stand out to him. They were all pretty and nice in his opinion, and being allowed to touch them for the purpose of dancing was wonderful at the same time, but on the other hand they all felt and looked the same to him: Light and easy to lead, just moving where he led them. It was as if he was dancing with himself, so little resistance did they give him, and so little of their own did they add to the dancing. 

He got aware of how little he cared about them when one of the girls gave him funny looks when he asked her for her name and when she interrupted him just when he wanted to tell her his own: 

“I know, it's Naruto. We've danced with each other before.”

He tried to patch it up, explaining that he had a bad memory for names. The real reason was of course that he did had forgotten her name as soon as she had told him, as he was not really interested in it, as little as in the names of the other girls. They weren't from Konoha – why should he take any effort to get acquainted to them? He could not get involved with any of them for real, so why should he get attached and pay attention to their names? But he did not want to embarrass himself, so with the next girls he waited for them to ask him for his name instead of asking himself, and also he ceased to change partners after every dance. He was glad when they began to learn English Waltz, meaning that he had to stick with one and the same girl for some time. 

It turned out however that his partner for English Waltz liked to lead herself. Her left arm did not lie gently on his upper right arm but firmly held his shoulder blade from above, restricting the movements of his arm. 

“It's not correct”, he told her. “And also, I am supposed to lead.”

“Why should I not lead just because I am a girl?” she asked back. 

She pushed him and shoved him and turned him around. Sasuke had been more considerate, Naruto thought, showing him where to move rather than making him move. He was glad when the female dance teacher joined them to have a look ar what went wrong and discovered that actually the girl had inserted some extra steps. When she had finally understood how she was meant to go being led by her did not feel as awkward as it had before, but still Naruto felt dragged around instead of being led (or leading, as he was supposed to be.) She dragged him around in the correct way, he thought, which was at least some progress in comparison to what she had done before. 

Why did these girls not know about the middle way? Naruto wondered. Neither being like a feather, as his previous partners had been nor pushing and pulling him, as this one did. Sasuke had led him gently, he thought, and they had actually been communicating via their arms and hands. He missed him, thinking that with Sasuke he had actually hold someone in his arms with some weight of his own, someone who moved of his own accord (and moved well), someone who had a will of his own even though he followed (and sometimes did not follow.) He kept looking for him, and while he was glad that they had to separate he was also slightly jealous that Sasuke was doing well. He still had a bad conscience and when the break started he thanked his partner and told her that he had to look after his friend, yet when he saw Sasuke talking to the dance teacher he decided to buy drinks.

“Look at your friend!” the boys who stood in queue with him told him. “Again trying to catch the dance teacher's attention.”

“Probably discussing the finer details of dancing”, Naruto replied, wondering why he adopted Sasuke's arrogant style. He had to, hadn't he, in order to defend his friend. (He was aware of what the boys were implying.)

He was glad when it was his turn so that he could leave the boys and join Sasuke. They did not talk, they just felt the relief of being with each other again and not having to deal with strangers, and they regretted when the break ended and they had to separate again.

“Maybe we are lucky and next week some girls have chickened out”, Naruto said. 

Sasuke nodded. Knowing that it would be for the last time he was ready to face the teenage girls around him. Still he was glad that the next dance was Jive which was danced in open position, so that he only had to hold his partner's hand. He even decided to learn the girls's steps so that later he could dance with Naruto, and managed to appear unaffected by the stares he got from the boys around him. He would not have to cope with them for much longer, and anyway, he did not care about these teenage boys. Still he was far from being as oblivious as Naruto thought. 

Just for the last dance Naruto turned up and asked him to be his partner. “They can't deny us to dance with each other at least once”, he said, and Sasuke happily accepted. 

Jive was a fast dance, not intimate as the rumba, and still, even though it took them a few attempts to work out how the steps went together (Sasuke volunteered to follow), it immediately felt like dancing. Moving in harmony, approaching each other and separating again: Soon Naruto was in a different state of mind where he felt all light and dizzy as he had the week before. He had not felt this when he had danced with any of the girls. It was Sasuke's fault, he decided, and the funny way he behaved: Sometimes smiling at him, then being all embarrassed and turning away, then again trying to reassume his usual emotionless expression, the one he had worn when he had arrived in Music Town. It no longer worked – Naruto knew now that it was just a facade. He laughed inwardly, and when the dance was over, he laughed outwardly too.

“It's supposed to be fun”, he said, embracing Sasuke, and immediately letting go again, as people might be watching. “You're allowed to smile.”

Sasuke had blushed, he had looked at his feet and was now looking at some point far beyond the horizon while the other teenagers left the room one after the other. 

“Do you want an English Waltz too?” the dance teacher asked, and Naruto answered that they did, feeling that he had to make up to Sasuke for making him suffer through the afternoon. He was even ready to follow, if this made him happy, but the dance teacher showed them another, more symmetric position, where each of them held the other's shoulders.

“For training”, he said. “The one who goes forward leads, the one who goes backwards follows.”

He showed them how to do a full turn in two measures instead of only half a turn, and told them to dance in a straight line. 

Giving us special attention, Naruto thought. Was it out of pity, or because of his bad conscience for making them split up, or was it because Sasuke had indeed used his beauty to persuade the dance teacher to give them some extra time? It would be just like him, being ready to do anything to secure him some extra training time.

Sasuke was still looking confused, then embarrassed and then happy. What had happened to him? Only when they were told to start and he was facing forward he was looking determined again, as if he was heading out against some invisible enemy. 

“You may smile”, Naruto told him again.

“You'll definitely have to learn to smile if you want to become a good dancer”, the teacher said. “But for the moment it's enough if you smile at your partner.” 

Sasuke looked confused, muttered something incomprehensible, smiled at Naruto, blushed and turned away. He was so easy to embarrass, Naruto thought, it was really fun. He refrained from further teasing him, however, so that they could begin. 

Even when they tried without music it felt completely different from dancing with a girl. Not having full responsibility all the time and being allowed to let go and follow Sasuke when he led, and then again leading him. When the dance teacher switched on the music, Naruto almost immediately fell into trance – the world was turning around Sasuke and himself while they were holding each other, standing still in the center of the world. 

The dance teachers were watching them.

“We should find them some girls with talent”, the woman said. “Maybe they'll enjoy it when they have competent partners.”

The man shook his head, knowing that it was not just a question of talent, but he could not reply as the boys had just stopped dancing and were arguing. He went to look at what had happened. 

“It was my turn to lead”, Naruto said. “You were taking over.”

“You were running against a wall”, Sasuke replied. “I had to do something”.

“You had not! I was fully in control of the situation.”

They were stopped by the dance teacher's arrival. 

“Next time you'll learn how to go around corners”, he said. “For now it's okay, however. We want to closed now.”

Silenced, Sasuke and left the dance hall. 

“You heard him”, Naruto said when they were half way home. “Next time they won't separate us.”

Next time won't be here with all these teenagers, Sasuke thought. He sought for words to tell Naruto that they had been invited to join another dance classe but before he could begin Naruto continued.

“Else, you should be more careful. You've been talking to the dance teacher during the whole break again. You appear to be encouraging him. The other boys think he's gay.”

“Sure he is.”

“What makes you certain?”

“He told me that the other dance teacher, the one we had last week, is his lover.”

“He told you? What do you think you are doing, asking the dance teacher about his love life and talking to him about it during the whole break?”

Protectively Naruto put his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. “Take better care of yourself in the future.”

How do I tell him that I needed to talk to someone about being gay because I'm gay myself? Sasuke thought. (It was much easier to think this than it had been the first time.) He figured that this was not the right moment to tell Naruto, however.


	37. Chapter Thirty-Four: The Third Letter

Sasuke kept looking for an opportunity to tell Naruto that they were invited to a dance class for same-sex couples, but none arose. On the next morning, a new letter from Sakura arrived, this time without an extra envelope for Sasuke. It felt weird: He was not particularly eager for a renewed declaration of love from her side, yet the idea that she might have shifted her affection to someone else, Naruto for example, troubled him. He sat on Naruto's bed and watched him anxiously for any change of expression while Naruto read the letter.

Naruto thought little of Sasuke when he opened the letter. It would contain news from Sakura, news from his village, news from his friends. The only reason why he hesitated while he unfolded it was the fear of bad news, which in all likelihood he would find. He began to read: 

Dear Naruto!

Thanks for your letter! I'm always glad to hear how you are doing and to hear that you are well. I am also happy that you managed to persuade Sasuke to stay with you. I wish I were with you in that place you are staying at and not in Konoha where the situation is getting worse and worse. 

I should not complain, however, as I am better off than most other ninjas. I am not sent on missions as I am needed in the hospital, meaning that I am overworked and exhausted but not severely wounded from a mission that went wrong, which happens often now as Danzou keeps sending teams that are too small or too inexperienced. 

I have discussed the matter with Kakashi, asking him whether we should not decline missions and tell the clients that they have to wait, or ask another ninja village, but Kakashi told me that this is impossible – declining a mission means to admit that we are weak, and sending them to another village means that Fire Country is no longer able to protect its citizens. He reminded me that under Tsunade when Orochimaru had destroyed the village, we did the same, and that it turned out almost fatal for Chouji and Neji. The only difference is that the destruction caused by Pain is far worse so that it takes longer to undo it. 

What's beyond my comprehension, however, is the fact that Danzou has decided to challenge Cloud over some outpost somewhere in the wilderness. It borders neither to Fire Country nor to Lightning Country, it's in a mountainous region where agriculture is impossible, it does not allow to control any important town or river, it's just a fortress and a stragetic outpost that may be useful in case of another war. It was assigned to Cloud in the most recent peace treaty but traditionally it belonged to the Leaf. He's already sent a mission to spy on the fortress, a mission I only know about because one of the squad members ended up in my care. 

There are days when I return home and can do nothing but fall into my bed. My mother will see that I eat before I sleep, and she insists that I have breakfast every morning before I leave for work, otherwise I would have long starved to death, just out of lack of time for eating. 

I am now confident that my new boss has no idea of medical ninjutsu, so that I feel more relaxed again about cheating and making the state of health of my patients appear worse than it is. Some days ago when we discussed one of my cases I talked some scientific sounding rubbish, and he kept nodding, pretending he understood everything. The same goes for the special unit I wrote about in my last letter, the one whose task it is to provide healthcare for the members of Root. They keep coming to me for advice. Twice I even had to check on Danzou himself when something went wrong with his immune system. They tried to cover it up, but I could not help noticing that he is filled up with drugs to repress an immune reaction and with antibiotics to make up for it. I've seen this only with people who've had a transplantation. 

Naruto put down the letter. 

“We might ask Sakura to poison Danzou”, he said. “Then you'd have your revenge.”

“How?” Sasuke asked.

It turned out that he did not even know that Sakura was a med nin. Naruto had to explain to him that under Tsunade's tutelage she had become very proficient.

“She might confuse two medications. Or give him a dose that's too high or too low. She'll be able to cover it up, I'm sure, making it appear as if his immune system got out of control, but if it gets known she can always blame it on her exhaustion. It would have been Danzou's own fault, ultimately, as he has made her overwork herself. We'd also avenge those poor devils who got killed on missions that went over their heads.”

Sasuke was still recovering from his surprise.

“You don't mean this seriously, do you? Have Sakura poison Danzou with all the risk on her shoulders and us do nothing?”

“Why not? You'd get your revenge, you'd stay alive, and we could return to Konoha.”

“But they would not necessarily appoint you Hokage. Those Elders might favor someone who insists on shutting you up in some secret place.”

He thought a bit more. “Forget it. I want my revenge but not like this. Not just some girl disposing of my enemy.”

“You insist on slaying an old man with your own hands? Why should this be more honourable than poisoning him?”

Again Sasuke had to think. “I want him to know it's me. I want the whole village, the whole world to know that it was me. They shall know it's not possible to murder the Uchiha clan and keep it hidden forever and never pay for it.”

Sasuke had always loved melodrama, Naruto thought. 

“You certainly demand a lot”, he said. “Find a way for you to kill the current Hokage of Konoha and make it known to all the world, and still not get killed for it.”

“I don't care about not getting killed. It's you who insists that I stay alive.”

“Certainly I insist”, Naruto said, rather irritated. Had they not discussed this before? 

Sasuke was actually not as opposed to staying alive as he used to be. However, he enjoyed hearing Naruto say that he did not want him to die. 

“You love challenges, don't you?” he said smiling. “And anyway: Did you not promise me a memorial for my family, and my brother's name inscripted into the stone that honours those who sacrificed their lives to the Leaf?” 

“I did”, Naruto answered, silently agreeing that asking Sakura to poison Danzou would not do. “So you will have to wait until I have an idea for a better plan.”

Sasuke did not answer: Having to wait for a better plan had its benefits. Naruto returned to Sakura's letter. 

ANBU has been merged with Root. Yamato is very upset about it; when he met me and Kakashi at Tsunade's place he complained bitterly that ANBU is no longer what it used to be, dominated by members of Root, who are now more numerous than regular ANBU, and more and more missions are of a kind that formerly would have been accepted only by Root, killing people who apparently haven't done anything wrong, just because the clients want them dead. Formerly it were always political reasons that made the Hokage agree to an assassination, and he'd rarely agree to the assassination of innocent people. Kakashi says that Yamato is naive and that under Danzou too people are assassinated for political reasons, it's only that Yamato does not understand these reasons, and if he did, he would not agree to them. It's true, however, that more people get assassinated now.

Sai has the same impression. I have told him of your suspicion that Sasuke's family may have been murdered on orders of the top echelon of the Leaf. He and I have set out to find documents that might prove it. We have had a look at the archives in the Hokage Tower (Tsunade has told me where they are) but they do not contain the proceedings of any meeting between the Saindaime, the councillors and Danzou where the murder of the clan was decided. Actually there are no proceedings of any meeting between these four people, it's always only the Sandaime and the councillors. Danzou is never mentioned, at least not as present at those meetings, there are however notes written in pencil on the margins of documents as “inform Danzou!” or “ask for Danzou's opinion!” Also we haven't found anything about a rebellion being planned by the Uchiha clan.

Yet while we have not found any unambiguous proof that the massacre was ordered by the Leaf Sai insists that this is neither proof that there wasn't any meeting where the massacre was decided. Maybe these meetings took place but were not properly recorded. Maybe the proceedings of the meetings were considered classified information and, unlike the regular archives, not accessible to everyone belonging to the Hokage's staff. They may be found elsewhere. Sai has also pointed out to me that it is suspicious that the massacre is never mentioned in the proceedings. 

He has shown me a secret place in the rocks of the Hokage mountain that contains the archives of Root and ANBU. They are about all the people they've been spying on, and it's still in use, more than ever before, as Sai told me. He himself is adding to it, but he won't talk about it. “Nothing about you or Naruto”, he said. “Only trifles, so that Danzou won't get suspicious.” 

He hid inside and let me in when everyone was gone, and together we checked several of the hidden corridors, and one of them led to the hall that contains the files on the Uchiha clan. It was a nightmare: Shelf after shelf of reports, all on one family. It seemed as if they'd never end, but Sai took it upon himself to measure the room: It's 112 metres long and 78 metres wide. It's still huge and I still feel the horror of the realization of how many information has been collected during the seven years between the kyuubi's attack and the massacre. Sai had a closer look: He says that before the kyuubi's attack there had been reports too, though fewer. 

It's still disturbing, and it made me wonder whether the other clans were spied upon as well. Or normal families as my own. 

But this means that even though we cannot confirm that the Uchiha clan was murdered on orders of the Leaf we can confirm that it was spied upon. We have begun to get an overview over the accumulated information. We soon hope to find evidence whether the clan was busy preparing a rebellion. 

Sai is sending you his regards, and he also asked me to give his regards to Sasuke. Shikamaru's mother is sending her regards too, and also Kakashi and Tsunade. I think that's all the people who know that you have escaped from the village – no, wait, there's some more people now: Hinata and her father. I had to tell her – I did not plan to. By chance it was just after I had checked up on Danzou that she and her father came to ask for an audience, and I had the opportunity to listen to them too. They asked Danzou about you, demanding permission to see you and talk to you. Danzou repeated that they should not worry about you as you were safely hidden away, but they insisted on talking to you to have proof that you are still alive. Danzou got angry and threatened them, saying that if they did not trust his words and his judgement he would consider them as traitors whose priority is not the safety of the village but some selfish interest in one single person. 

I ran after them to comfort Hinata and we sat down at Ichiraku's place. Hinata was crying and Hiashi explained to me how he had understood that Hinata was serious in her love to you, even though he had found her public declaration of love rather distasteful, and that he was now going to support her and help her gain your hand so that the embarrassment of her declaration would be resolved in a marriage. 

I was a bit surprised. Hinata is nice and loves you, but I find it weird that they are certain that you would marry her. I was not aware that you had ever taken any interest in her. But you would do well with her, I think.

After some time she recovered from crying but when I asked her whether she felt better she broke into tears again and told me I was a hypocrite, trying to comfort her now but remaining silent when she and her father spoke up to Danzou. She said I was a coward and did not truly care for you and did not deserve your love. I have never seen her like this, all upset and crying. 

I thought it best to inform her that you are well and alive. I trust that your secret is safe with her. She sends her regards and her love and wants me to tell you that she hopes that you are doing fine. I hope so too. 

Give my love to Sasuke! Whatever he says and does, I will never cease to love him. 

Take care! 

Love, Sakura

Naruto put down the letter and looked at Sasuke who had been watching. He passed him the letter:

“Some of what she's written may be of interest to you.”


	38. Chapter Thirty-Five: Coming Out (or not)

It took Sasuke only some minutes to read the letter.

“What's that thing with Hinata?” he asked putting it down. “Since when has she been in love with you?”

Naruto was surprised. The lines on Hinata were not what he had in mind when he told Sasuke that parts of Sakura's letter might be of interest to him.

“Not every girl is in love with you”, he replied. “Some may actually be in love with me, even though it may be hard for you to imagine.”

Sasuke felt hurt by the accusation, most of all because it was not hard for him to imagine, and he had really not intended to insult Naruto.

“I don't care about Hinata”, he said. “She's even more useless than Sakura.”

“Sakura's not useless. She is one of the most competent med nin of Konoha. And Hinata's not useless either. When I fought Pain, who had invaded Konoha, she was the only one who had the courage to intervene when I was helpless, even though she was much weaker than him and bound to lose within a few seconds.”

“I would have intervened too”, Sasuke said. “And I would not have lost because contrary to Hinata I am not useless in a fight.”

“You weren't there”, Naruto replied, rather irritated. “And Hinata's intervention was not useless. In a situation when I was helpless and doubted myself she made me remember that protecting my friends is more important than anything else, and helped me summon the power of the kyuubi.”

“Yeah, I've heard that you do so when you are upset. I was told you sprouted four-tails when Orochimaru claimed me as his before you sought me out in his lair.”

“Sure I did.” It felt a long time ago now, though it was less than a year ago. 

“I have also heard that you were not able to control the kyuubi, and that he was on the point of taking over”, Sasuke continued. “What a great way to protect the man you love: make him summon a power that's beyond his strength. I would have been able to get it under control again.”

The memory of the moment when Sasuke had suddenly appeared within Naruto at the place where the kyuubi was held in prison, talking to it or rather listening to it, turned up in Naruto's mind. It had been a creepy moment: The kyuubi had always been his last resort, it still was, in spite of his teachers' warnings and the damage the kyuubi would cause. The idea of having an opponent who was able to control it had been a nightmare – Naruto still was not sure how he felt about having a friend who had the power to get into his mind and hold back the demon that was enclosed within him. For a moment he felt insecure, returning to the time when Sasuke had just arrived in Music Town and Naruto had no idea whether he could trust him or not.

Sasuke was still waiting for an answer.

“You weren't there”, Naruto told him again. “Anyway, it's not important whether she had the power to control the kyuubi, or whether she can protect me. It's the intention that counts. It's the warmth and the affection she expressed in being ready to sacrifice her life for me. I'm the man, I have to protect her. I don't know about you, but I don't need a woman to protect me.”

“I don't need a woman either”, Sasuke replied. “So what do your want of her? Are you in love with her too?” 

Naruto hesitated. “I'm not sure. She's nice and gentle and has been friendly even at a time when everyone else hated me.”

“I didn't.”

“No, you just despised me. Hinata admired me from the beginning and chose me as her role model for not giving up. Only later she got a bit weird: Hiding behind walls when I was approaching and not able to talk without fainting or at least falling into a stutter that made it almost impossible to understand her. And always she's wearing those anoraks that make her look fat, even when it's warm. Sakura's much prettier. And then she suddenly declares her love to me in front of the whole village, and everyone, including herself and her father, expects me to return her love just because she has risked her life to save me.

I really would have preferred a more conventional way of showing that she likes me, as sometimes talking to me on missions or asking me to go to the movies together so that we might have figured out whether we really like each other and get along with each other. If I choose her now it's just because she's available. It's as if I give myself to her as some kind of reward. It's not as if I even have a choice. It's a rather awkward situation, facing me with a love declaration like this and forcing me to decide, and making me appear an ungrateful bastard if I don't accept her.

I mean, if I declared my love to anyone, I'd wait until I could hope for a positive answer. I've asked Sakura for dates but I would not tell her that I love her when I know she's in love with you.

So, concerning your question: No, I'm not in love with Hinata. She's nice and I like her, but I don't long for her with all my heart and feel irrestistibly attracted to her as you are supposed when you are in love.”

Sasuke looked relieved and Naruto wondered why as he had just declared that he did not care about Hinata. It had been weird, he thought, being questioned about his love life by Sasuke, who only cared about his revenge. (For the moment Naruto had forgotten that Sasuke was supposed to be in love with Sakura.) He considered asking Sasuke why Hinata was of so much importance to him suddenly, given that he did not care for her, but Sasuke spoke before Naruto could ask his question.

“There's something else I wanted to ask you”, he said. “We've been invited to change to another dance class. It's a training group for some tournament that's going to take place in autumn, like the one we watched at the festival. They think we have sufficient talent to succeed in the beginners' class. We wouldn't have to deal with all the teenagers there, or be pressed to separate and dance with girls. I got it's only grown-up men there.”

It took Naruto some seconds to process the information.

“Gay men, you mean.”

“Yes.”

“Gay men who will all be lusting after you, or rather after your body.”

“What makes you think so?”

“You don't look into a mirror, ever, do you?”

(Of course he did, every morning when he applied gel to his hair and also several times in the afternoon when he reorganized it. Naruto sometimes wondered whether the result would not be better if Sasuke did not use a mirror for this.) 

“What do you think they'll do when a pretty boy appears among them? I won't let you fall prey to them!”

“Don't be ridiculous. They're not like Orochimaru here.”

“Still they're gay. I won't let them have you.”

“So what are you going to do? Break my arms and legs? They don't approve of it here.”

Naruto knew this: If Sasuke was legal to join this group he'd get into serious difficulties if he tried to hold him back by force. The only thing he could do was find out whether there were any rules against Sasuke participating in that dance class, - there had to be, they would not allow a boy as Sasuke to join a group where gay men found partners for sex. He regretted that he had advised Sasuke to claim that he was eighteen.

“So you insist on going?”

“I do.”

“And you don't care that you're leaving me behind again?”

Sasuke was looking quite frustrated by now.

“The invitation is for both of us. I want us to join this group because there they'll accept that we want to dance with each other, they won't whisper behind our backs, they won't try to persuade us that dancing with a girl is not the same as having sex with her.”

Now he was acting weird, Naruto thought. Of course dancing was not the same as having sex. 

“It's up to you. We can join that group together, or you can stay with the teenagers. They are in need of boys.”

“Meaning that you'll change either way.”

“Yes.”

“And find yourself a new partner if I don't follow you.”

“Yes.”

“You don't give me much of a choice.”

For some seconds they stared at each other.

“May I take this as: Yes, I will continue to dance with you?” Sasuke finally asked. 

“You may.”

Sasuke looked relieved. He was not that keen on dancing with all these gay men after all, Naruto realized. He went over to Sasuke to embrace him.

“Don't worry, I'll protect you”, he said.

For a second Sasuke returned the embrace, then he dissolved it. He liked being embraced by Naruto, but more and more he longed for the right kind of embrace.

“I don't need you to protect me”, he said. “I just want to dance with you.”

“Yeah, sure”, Naruto answered, hurt by the rejection and exhausted from having to explain his feelings for Hinata and dealing with the fact that Sasuke wanted to join a group of gay men. He got up from the bed where Sasuke was sitting, wondering what adventures were waiting for him, and sat down at the table to answer to Sakura's letter. 

Dear Sakura! 

Thanks for your letter! I'm sorry to hear that things are going downhill in Konoha and that Danzou is ruining both people's lives and Konoha's reputation among the other ninja nations. I wish that at least you yourself were spared from all the mischief, but I guess I cannot expect you to be well when all the rest of the village is suffering. I am glad that at least you won't be sent on a mission that might kill you. Take care! 

I – both of us, I mean – want to thank you and Sai for the risk you're taking upon yourselves in order to find some information concerning the events around the Uchiha clan. Of course a proof that the massacre was ordered by Danzou would be most welcome, but the fact that the Uchiha clan has been spied upon for years tells a lot, I think. Be careful, however! I don't want anything to happen to you or to Sai. 

Give my thanks and regards to Hinata! I am glad that at least someone remembers me and thinks of me.

He looked up – he felt insecure about Hinata. He liked her and wanted to show her his gratitude, but he did not want to raise any hopes that he could not fulfill. His eyes met Sasuke's, and Sasuke asked for a sheet of paper as he wanted to send some lines to Sakura himself. Naruto gave it to him and then returned to his own letter.

Sasuke is doing fine. He has accepted to stay with me and not engage in any foolish attempts to gain his revenge. He seems to enjoy his stay, but he is acting weird. He has started to learn to dance, and I have to figure as his partner. Now he wants us to join a group that consists only of gay men.

Naruto hesitated, then he crossed out the word gay and blackened it, making the letter look like the one Temari had sent to Shikamaru. He looked at Sasuke who was focussed on his own writing. Naruto decided to finish his letter: 

I'm looking after him, however, so don't worry. I will bring him safely back to Konoha. 

Love, Naruto.

Sasuke sat bent over his blank page, not able to focus on what he wanted to write as his mind kept returning to his conversation with Naruto. He was content with the result: Naruto would dance with him, but he felt troubled and sad that he wanted to dance with him for the wrong reasons. Naruto's opinions about gay men troubled him too: Had he not noticed that they were not like Orochimaru here? Sasuke did not have the courage to tell him that he wanted to join a group of gay men because that was where he belonged.

There'd be other opportunities, he decided. And maybe he would not have to tell him at all: He'd be content dancing, and grateful that life granted him some happiness before he ended it, killing Danzou.

Having come to a decision he returned to his letter to Sakura. He had made up his mind to crush her hopes once and for all: 

Dear Sakura! 

Please stop insisting on your everlasting love for me! It's not romantic, it's annoying. I have never given you any reason to believe that I might return your feelings, and if I have, I regret that I ever spoke a friendly word to you. Please realize that I'll never love you, at least not in a romantic way, no matter how much information you find about the massacre of my clan, as I happen to be gay.

He looked at what he had written: It was not so difficult after all. He might be a bit nicer, however. He tore up the letter and asked Naruto for a new sheet of paper. He tried again: 

Dear Sakura!

I want to thank you for what you and Sai are doing in order to gain information about my clan. I highly appreciate your efforts and the risk you are taking for my sake but I want to ask you not to expect me to love you in return, as I am gay. I hope you understand.

Kind regards, Sasuke.

He sealed the letter to make sure that Naruto would not be able to read it, then he passed it to him to be included into Naruto's own letter.


	39. Chapter Thirty-Six: Birthday Party

Naruto had spent quite some time making plans for Sasuke's birthday. He had organized a day off for both of them, he had considered going out with his friend on his special day, have picnic in Heroes' Park for example, then watch a football match or a movie, then invite him to a really expensive restaurant and in the evening visit one of the local music clubs. He had not yet decided which one as he had no idea of Sasuke's taste for music, nor did he have any particular taste for music himself. For a moment he had thought of taking Sasuke to a place where you did not just listen but also had the opportunity to dance, having a vague idea that Sasuke might prefer this, but he was still shy about dancing with Sasuke in public. They were not good enough for this anyway, he thought. 

Juugo relieved him from having to decide whether they should dance or just listen: He was planning a real party at his new family's place. Suigetsu and Karin had promised to be there too, and he had also collected money to buy a birthday present, not telling anyone what it was. Naruto had contributed, but he had also bought a smaller present of his own, to show Sasuke that his affection went beyond just donating some money so that Juugo could buy a present. 

Sasuke had not given much thought to his birthday. He'd never celebrated his birthdays since the murder of his family, but had just seen them as markers in the endless stretch of time lying before him until he would kill Itachi, markers that told him how he got older and stronger, approaching the day when he would be considered a grown-up man, old enough to challenge his brother. Later they only marked how much time he had wasted staying in Konoha instead of avenging his family, and then, when he had been with Orochimaru, his birthdays reminded him that he had limited time to get strong enough to defeat Orochimaru before he would attempt to take over his body.

His sixteenth birthday had been a short time before he fought Itachi and he had celebrated it all by himself, withdrawing from his team who had been with him already at that time, meditating in front of the picture of his family: Now he was grown up, now he had gathered the strength to defeat Itachi, even without the Mangekyou Sharingan. 

He felt rather weird about his seventeenth birthday. A year ago he would not have thought that he would be alive to celebrate it. He'd die after killing Itachi, he had been sure, though he had also had some vague plans of killing Madara too. 

Now that he was alive on his seventeenth birthday he did not know how he felt about it. It certainly meant that he was again wasting his time instead of forging plans for his revenge. It had been a mistake to tell Naruto – now it was impossible to leave Music Town without Naruto's consent, which he would not get without a plan that would leave him and Naruto alive. One the other hand he was not in a hurry – he might enjoy life in Music Town for a while. 

For a short moment he forgot about his revenge and his birthday seemed to mark the beginning of an unknown future, a future that held a lot of possibilities, a lot of unknown risks – everything but the familiar path of training, fighting, gaining revenge and dying, the path he had always seen whenever he had thought of his future after his family's death. He had never imagined what it might be like to be a grown-up man in his twenties or thirties or forties, now he could see a future that stretched into old age. When he thought of this future, his seventeenth birthday was only a minor landmark: the last before his eighteenth birthday, when he would be considered a grown-up man according to the laws of Music Town. 

He had actually not given much thought to his birthday. Maybe if Juugo's foster mothers had not asked for his age he would not have thought of it at all, and neither Juugo nor Naruto would have made any plans to celebrate it. Maybe then he would not have been surprised by Naruto waking him up in the early morning, taking his shoulders and drawing him into an embrace before he was fully awake. 

“Happy Birthday”, Naruto said. “But I'm sure it will be a happy day: Juugo has organized a surprise party for you.”

“Has he?”

“Sure he has. I also have a present for you.”

He got up and produced a parcel from the wardrobe where he had kept it hidden for some time. It was wrapped in brightly coloured paper and rather huge. He took it to Sasuke, who was still in bed.

Sasuke saw Naruto's eyes, saw his eagerness for him to unwrap the parcel, his anxiousness whether he, Sasuke, would approve or disapprove of it, and suddenly it felt all wrong. It should not be like this: You should not get your presents while you were still in bed, you should have to get up silently when everyone else was still fast asleep and find them on the living-room table. The giver should not be sitting next to you when you discovered and unwrapped them, waiting for your judgement. He should be standing, or not be present at all, knowing you'd like his presents because you were supposed to like them. They were what those who loved you gave to you, they were what they wanted you to grow up into. He would look at his presents, unwrap those that were wrapped and feel all the love they represented, and then see the same love in his family's faces who by now had joined him to congratulate him. 

He unwrapped Naruto's present: An espresso machine. 

“You like that stuff, don't you?” Naruto said. “I thought you'd enjoy being able to make it yourself.”

He had long thought what he wanted to give to Sasuke. He had spent quite some time in a drugstore, smelling various brands of hair gel but then deciding that it was probably better to let Sasuke choose by himself and rather get him some coffee machine. He had listened for more than an hour to a shop assistant explaining to him the advantages and disadvantages of the available models, having difficulties to understand them as he, Naruto, did not like coffee at all. 

Sasuke did not know what to say. It was certainly a well-meant present, indicating that Naruto had observed him well and really intended to give him something he would enjoy, but – it was all practical. Birthday presents weren't supposed to be practical. They were supposed to be equipment he needed to grow up as a ninja: His first wrist protector, his first kunai (still blunt), his first shirt with the Uchiha crest on its back, or they were real toys to play with. But definitely no household machines.

“Thanks a lot”, he said when he realized that Naruto was still waiting, but his heart was not in it. 

Naruto insisted that they tried the machine for breakfast, and it produced good coffee as it turned out. (Naruto had chosen well when he had bought coffee.) Naruto insisted also that Sasuke did not help while he prepared breakfast, and this felt right to Sasuke: Having the birthday breakfast table laid for you. Only when he sat down with Naruto he felt sad: It should not be espresso, no matter how good it was, but cocoa. When he saw that Naruto was looking worried a got a grip on himself and smiled again.

“We should have celebrated our birthdays when we were still Team Seven”, Naruto said. “Why didn't we do it? We should have invited each other and celebrated as anyone else.”

“Sakura celebrated hers with her family and invited the girls of our academy class”, Sasuke answered. Naruto was silent: They could not have celebrated without a family. 

Silently they ate, and Sasuke got aware that he was actually glad that Naruto and Juugo had remembered his birthday and he felt moved that Juugo's new family had agreed to give a party in his honour, even though he felt sad that it was not his own family. He was looking forward to the party, and at the same time he felt anxious about it.

When they arrived the two mothers had already put up tables and benches in their garden, and this time they had not invited a bunch of their lesbian friends: It was Sasuke's party, not theirs. Suigetsu and Karin however had found time to come. 

“Seventeen, eh”, Suigetsu said. “Quite grown up, I think. You're taller than me now, though only in height.”

“I have always been taller than you”, Sasuke replied. “And not only in height.”

Inwardly he smiled, and then he was sad again: Itachi had always remarked on Sasuke's growth on his birthdays, and Sasuke had always answered that one day he would be taller than Itachi. He had not, in the end, and he did not know whether he was still growing. It did not matter anyway, as he would never again be able to compare to Itachi and see who was taller.

“I have something for you”, Suigetsu continued and handed a CD to Sasuke. “It's not wrapped because I did not have time, and anyway, it's a waste of paper.”

“It's a waste of paper if you don't know how to wrap a parcel and get it all crumpled”, Karin said. 

Sasuke looked at the CD: Neither he nor Naruto owned a CD player. At least the cover was pretty. 

“It's a copy of the demo tape we did with our band to apply for concerts”, Suigetsu explained.

Karin had a present too. It was well wrapped: Sasuke had to work his way through several layers of paper and bubble wrap until he found the present itself, a ring of wood, some fifteen centimetres in diameter, supporting a net of threads decorated with wooden pearls, feathers and some tiny bells. Karin was leaning against him while he unwrapped it and he had to suppress a urge to shove her away as he did not want to appear rude. 

“It's supposed to catch nightmares and protect you against them”, she explained. 

“I don't need it!” Sasuke said automatically, feeling caught as he had actually suffered a lot from nightmares for a long time. Right after the massacre he had night after night relived the moment when he had returned home and found Itachi standing next to the bodies of his dead parents. Later he had learnt to wake up at will and to raise barriers against the pain, mostly by dreaming of his revenge. The nightmares had returned after he had heard that his clan had been murdered on orders of the Leaf, and they had actually got worse after his arrival in Music Town when telling Naruto about his parents, building his shrine and being confronted with Juugo's new family had brought the memories back to him. It was in some way worse than before as dreaming of his revenge did no longer work to get him out of the pain he felt when he remembered the day of the massacre. Seeing Naruto sleeping next to him sometimes gave him comfort, and sometimes it did not.

Anyway, he had no intention of telling Karin about his nightmares, and he did not want any item she had created to keep them away from him. They were his dreams after all. He activated his Sharingan to check the thing.

“It does not contain any jutsus”, he said.

“Oh no, it's just feathers and threads. The women in my seminar class asked me about these things, so I pretended that I knew everything and then went to the library and found a book that explained about them. It took me some practise, but now I am able to teach how to make them. They are quite pretty, I think.”

“Yes, certainly”, Sasuke answered. He had not made up his mind about this thing. If anything, he thought it plain weird. “I'll have to ask Naruto before I put it up”, he said. “It's his place after all.”

They joined Naruto who was chatting with Juugo's foster-mothers. He liked the dreamcatcher, and the two women were full of admiration.

“You still know how to make them! We used to know similar techniques, ways to communicate with the spirits of nature, but we have lost all our traditions and now we have to re-import them from other countries.”

Karin promised to make them some dreamcatchers for their kids. 

Juugo had been inside the house all the time, wrapping the present for Sasuke. Now he joined the rest of the guests in the garden, handing the present to Sasuke.

“It's from all of us”, he said. “Your old friends and your new friends.”

It was soft and big and wrapped in plain paper. 

“Be careful or it will get crumpled”, Juugo said. 

Sasuke removed the paper, rather anxious than in joyous anticipation. He unfolded what was beneath the wrapping paper, held it up and looked at it. It could have been worse, he thought when he saw it: Juugo could have gone for some fancy underwear. 

“It's beautiful”, Karin said. “You've chosen well, Juugo.”

“I'd never wear anything like this”, Suigetsu said. “In my branch of music you don't even have to dress up for concerts, except that you may get a new leather belt or wristbands. It will always be my muscles that help me seduce a girl, not some fancy clothes. But you'll look great in it, I'm sure.”

“I've always liked those traditional shirts”, one of the lesbian mothers said. “I have always liked how in former times men were not afraid of wearing bright clours, or having frills and embroidery on their garments. Now even in the ninja countries all they think of is whether their clothes are practical.”

Sasuke was glad that the shirt was white, or rather ivory.

The other woman carefully touched the fabric. “It's pure silk”, she said. “It feels quite special, smooth and rich.”

“It looks great”, Naruto said. “Like something you might wear on your wedding when we're back in Konoha.”

The little girls had assembled too, touching the material and admiring the embroidery as their mothers had (there weren't any frills). Now they urged Sasuke to put on the shirt. He would have preferred not to, not with Karin around, but there was no rational way to refuse, or to insist that he wanted to change inside the house. He felt uncomfortable in it: It was traditional, without buttons or a zipper, intended to be kept in place by a belt, which he did not have at the moment. He straightened and tried to look cool and unmoveable as he had at Orochimaru's place but it did not work with a bunch of little girls tugging at his sleeves and touching the front of his shirt. He could not well chidorize them as he would have done with Orochimaru. He was glad when one of the mothers told them to leave him alone.

“Why is he getting all these presents?” an even smaller girl asked. 

“It's his birthday”, her mother answered. “He's seventeen now.”

The child registered the information and it was almost possible to watch her process it. 

“Then why aren't there any candles? Why is there no birthday cake?” 

Finally someone remembers what is needed on a birthday, Sasuke thought. 

“He's a big boy, almost grown up”, her mother said. “He does not need that any more.”

Sasuke did not react. The other mother saw that he was unhappy and gave the girls some money so that they might buy candles and a cake while the rest of the guests sat down to have some tea or coffee. (The children got apple juice and water. They did not sit down for long anyway but soon went to play.)

It was all wrong, Sasuke thought again. The presents were wrong, the food was wrong, the whole way of celebrating his birthday was wrong. He listened to Naruto, who had been asked whether they already missed Juugo and who was explaining how he had come to like him in the course of the few weeks he had been living at his place. Sasuke felt left out.

The girls returned with a cake in a box. They disappeared into the kitchen without letting anyone, least of all Sasuke, see the cake, claiming that they had to add some final touch, or rather decoration to it. Sasuke was content. The cake was supposed to be a surprise. He was just worried that it were some little girls who were preparing that surprise. 

It took them rather long, so long that one of the mothers went after them to see what had happened. Ten minutes later they returned with the cake: It was white and pink, it was eight centimetres in height, and on top the girls had tried to write “happy birthday, Sasuke” with chocolate, ruining the top layer of cream. The cake's edges had also been ruined by the girls' attempts to evenly distribute seventeen candles on a circle.

It was all wrong, Sasuke thought again. They meant well but they just did not get it right. The cake was too artificial, the writing contained a spelling mistake, the candles were still assembled on one side of the cake, with a few lonely ones on the other side, giving the impression that the other candles were trying to avoid them, and Sasuke suddenly felt sad for the lonely candles. 

“My mother used to make the cake herself”, he said. He could not talk more becuase otherwise he would have cried openly. Even as it was he could not prevent a tear running down his cheek. The children stared at him in shock.

“Why is he crying?” one of them asked.

“His parents are dead”, he mother answered. “He's sad that they can't be with him.”

The girl nodded in understanding. The smallest child, a boy who could not even talk, went over to Sasuke and embraced his knees and hips as well as he could. Sasuke picked him up and placed him on his lap. 

He had to get a grip on himself, he realized. He could not disturb these kids by crying when he was supposed to be happy. 

“I am sorry”, he said. “I have to thank you for allowing me to celebrate my birthday at your place. You're very generous.”


	40. Chapter Thirty-Seven: All these kids

Chapter Thirty-Seven: All these kids

Sasuke caressed the little boy who was sitting on his lap: Holding him gave him some comfort. 

“It's okay”, one of the mothers said. “We should have thought of it.”

They were very careful now, asking him twice even when they offered him tea or coffee, just to make sure that everything was as he wanted it. (They still did not have any cocoa, as their own kids drank apple juice, and he did not dare to ask them to prepare some just for his sake.) They even asked him whether he wanted the candles lighted, and this time he declined and lighted them with his katon, to the kids' delight and the mothers' horror.

“You can spit fire?” the children asked. 

“It's a trick”, the mothers explained. “He surely has taken a sip of gas when no one was watching.” 

He had successfully turned the kids' minds to other matters than the fact that his parents were dead. They lived in a world where parents did not die, just as he had until he was seven, and he wanted them to remain like this.

Conversation turned to another urgent question: Local authorities had to be informed that Juugo was living with the two women as their foster-child and they needed the testimony of one of his companions that he had indeed escaped from some evil place and had not just run away from home. Sasuke found himself confronted with the question whether he wanted to make his own stay in Music Town official. He preferred not to – not yet. 

“Is it necessary to tell about Juugo?” he asked. 

“It is”, the mothers answered. “We plan to send him to school in autumn. People have to know who's responsible for him.”

Pretending you are a kid has its drawbacks, Sasuke realized. 

Suigetsu was also reluctant about making his stay official (even though he had not had any issues with printing his full name on the cover of the CD), so this left Karin, who agreed readily. 

“I've arranged everything for myself, and I can help you to arrange things for Juugo too. I'm officially accepted as a refugee, with permission to stay in Music Town as long as I want. I'm also eligible to become a regular citizen in a few years.”

“What?” Suigetsu exclaimed. “Have you learnt to play the triangle?”

“I'm learning belly-dancing”, she explained. “And I learn to play the finger cymbals that go along with dancing.”

“Belly dancing!” 

All her former companions, and Naruto too, leant back to have a look at her. She had put on some weight since their arrival in Music Town, meaning that she was no longer underweight but just a bit on the slim side. 

“Is that not a dance for prostitutes in some other part of the world?” Suigetsu asked. 

“That's what men think”, one of the mothers replied. “Men always think that everything is only about themselves, and if a woman dances beautifully they think she's available. So, first, women who perform in front of an audience are paid for dancing, not for having sex. They are not even allowed to be touched. Second, normally women don't dance in front of men at all, but only when they're among themselves and have fun by themselves.”

“You see!” Karin said in triumph.

“What a waste!” Suigetsu said. “But you will dance for us, won't you?”

“I may, if you ask nicely.”

Sasuke could do without it (even though he had no idea about belly-dancing.) 

They returned to the subject of making it official that Juugo would have two foster-mothers. 

“We've discussed the possibility of an adoption”, one of the mothers explained. “But we cannot do this without his biological parents' consent.”

“They turned me out when I was a kid”, Juugo said. “They can't reclaim me now. I would not return.”

“They turned you out?” Naruto asked. 

“I used to be a monster.”

Sasuke saw the shock on Naruto's face. He'd have to explain later.

“Whatever you were, you're a great kid now”, one of the mothers said, laying her arm around Juugo's shoulders. “But I've told you already: The law says that we cannot adopt you unless your parents agree. We can try to contact them, however.” She looked at Juugo's former teammates. “Do you happen to know where to find them?”

“He's from Earth Country, I think”, Karin answered.

“What's the difference between adoption and taking him in as a foster child anyway?” Sasuke asked. 

“Adoption's irreversible”, Juugo answered.

“Taking him in as our foster-child means that we care for him until he can return to his parents. Or until he's grown up. Adopting him means that we are legally his parents and that his biological parents give up all claims on him. Though normally kids seek out their biological parents once they're off age.”

“I wouldn't”, Juugo said. “And you have adopted the baby.”

He was speaking of the little boy on Sasuke's lap. 

“That's not the same. His mother is sixteen and his father has deserted both mother and child. We know both their names.”

Again Sasuke saw the shock on Naruto's face.

“Maybe your biological parents can be found”, he tried to comfort Juugo. “Maybe they'll agree to an adoption.” 

He turned to another question that had been on his mind since Juugo's welcome party: “So that's how you got all these kids: By adoption.”

Embarrassed, the women looked at each other.

“Well, first, they are not all our own”, one of them began. “Most are just friends. In the evening they'll return to their own families.”

Sasuke should have guessed. There were between twenty and thirty children in the garden, the youngest sitting on his lap, the oldest Juugo's friends – too many even for two mothers.

“But actually even of our own most are not adopted, only the little one and now, if we are lucky, Juugo.”

“So how did you get them?” 

“Just as anyone else.”

“But this...” - he sought for words - “would imply that you had to have sex with men.”

“You sound as if you considered this a truly horrible idea.”

Again he had to think to come up with an answer. “I thought it would be for you.”

“It's not that bad, actually.”

He looked doubtful. He felt reminded of the dance teacher explaining to him that dancing with girls was not that bad: not the same as having sex with them. But you did not get kids by dancing. 

“You did not have sex with men just in order to get pregnant, did you?”

“No, we didn't. Both of us used to be married to men, and our older kids are from these previous marriages.”

At least this explained why the two oldest boys were almost the same age while they were obviously not twins.

“And what about the younger kids?” he asked. 

“They are the children of both of us.” 

“But how did you get them?” 

The women looked embarrassed and hesitated before they continued. 

“Well, there is artificial insemination of course.”

“What's that?”

This was when Naruto got up and left to play football with the older boys. Sasuke was free to make a fool of himself if he insisted on it, but he, Naruto, would not listen. Suigetsu and Karin had left earlier, and Juugo was playing. Sasuke was content that his team were not listening – he was not so certain however whether he would not have preferred Naruto to stay. 

It was a bit awkward, actually, and Sasuke tried hard not to imagine any details. The women also did their best to keep it short and stuck to the technical facts.

“It's more complicated for gay couples, isn't it?” Sasuke asked. 

“Sure. It's just a fact that a man's part in creating a child is smaller. Still there are solutions, as surrogate mothers.”

Again they had to explain the term. Sasuke was content: It sounded all weird and awkward and embarrassing, but he'd be able to handle it. He wasn't a kid any more, was he? He had survived three years at Orochimaru's place, hadn't he, he had learnt to deal with the Cursed Seal, he had accepted a bunch of jutsus and weapons and summons inscribed into his body so that he could call them at need. It had been painful and embarrassing and awkward to allow another person to manipulate his body, but he had dealt with it. 

He looked at the various groups of children playing in the garden, he caressed the little boy on his lap. He felt reminded of family convention at home, before the massacre, when the lawn had been full of cousins of first, second and third degree. They had been more polite and respectful to the grown-ups but between meals they had been allowed to play in the open grounds of the Uchiha compound. The children here were nice children too, he decided, even though they had ruined his birthday cake. 

Refounding his clan had been rather low on his priority list these last years. Actually it had always been an abstract idea, not really a dream of his own, rather a project other people had suggested to him in order to offer him a new goal, and in order to comfort him. It had not given him the satisfaction that planning his revenge had given him – in fact he had not been able to dream of it at all. Whenever people had told him that he might refound his family he had thought of his parents, who were dead, and not of children of his own he might have. He had adopted the aim as it had made sense and seemed appropriate, but his heart had not been in it, and as he got older and understood that for refounding his clan he'd have to marry a woman, or at least have sex with one, he thought of it rather as a duty towards his clan than something that might give him joy, and more and more often his fantasies of revenge ended with his own death. 

Since his arrival in Music Town, with Naruto insisting that he survived and married Sakura, the project of refounding the clan had resurfaced, and Juugo's foster siblings made him realize that it might be more than just fulfilling some duty. He would not even need a woman, he thought, at least he would not have to have sex with her. 

Naruto was still playing with the older kids. He had taken off his shirt and the sweat on his chest glistened in the sun. He'd need him at his side, Sasuke realized: Never accepting that anything might be impossible, and then refusing to step down on his word. He'd have to trick him into promising that they'd get children that were both their offspring, not just the kids of one of them, as it was the case with the lesbian mothers' kids: Naruto would do everything to make it come true. 

Sasuke turned back to the two women: “Why did you marry men if you are lesbian?” he asked. “Why did you have sex with them if you were not in love with them?”

Again the women looked embarrassed and confused. 

“We were in love with them”, one of them explained. “They were nice and good-looking and reliable, a lot of reasons to fall in love.”

“Only that with time her husband behaved more and more as if he was the boss”, the other continued, “while mine just grew boring. And then I met her at another friend's place, the most beautiful, most charismatic woman I've ever seen. She smiled at me and sat down next to me, and for the rest of the evening none of the other guests existed for us, or we for them.” 

For some minutes they told Sasuke of the beginnings of their love, how both of them had realized that their former marriages had been founded on convention and convenience alone, which they had mistaken for love, not knowing what real love was like: the kind of love that took hold of your whole soul, lifting it to another level of existence. Slowly both of them had overcome their doubts and decided to leave their husbands and move in with each other.

Sasuke listened in astonishment. In his eyes, these were both ordinary women, except that they were lesbian and had an unusual number of kids. They were practically minded and firmly rooted in real life, no dreamers, nor particularly beautiful (though he was certainly not a judge of female beauty) and all in all they were far too sensible to give up their ordinary lives for some dream of romantic love. 

“So you both thought that you were straight and only realized that you were lesbian when you met each other”, he said.

“Basically yes. It's quite common. Wasn't it the same for you?” 

He shook his head. “I always knew it, even as a kid, though I did not have a name for it. I had difficulties, however, to connect to anyone, boy or girl, right after my family's death. Still from far I preferred boys. Later I understood what I felt, but hated myself for it and tried to get rid of it. The guy who held Juugo and the rest of us prisoners was gay and I did not want to be like him. Here it's okay though.”

“Being evil is independent of being straight or gay”, one of the women replied. “Though it's easier to be good if you are accepted as you are.”

Sasuke could not make sense of her words. He did not mind, however. He felt content with himself, and also, the women's stories had given him hope. Naruto's crush on Sakura did not mean that he would be straight for all his life. It was quite likely that it was only founded on convention, Sasuke thought. He turned to watch Naruto, who was still playing with the kids, making a fool of himself as the boys were far better at football than him, and instead of accepting that they had begun to play at a very early age (the guy who had been sitting on Sasuke's lap had now got hold of a ball of his own that was as high as his knees, and tried to kick it around) Naruto refused to give in and tried to prove to the boys that he was at least as good as they were. 

“You like your friend”, one of the women said. 

Sasuke shrugged. “It's hopeless. He's straight.”

Naruto seemed to sense that he was being watched, and looked back at Sasuke, smiling and inviting him to join the game. Sasuke apologized to the two women for leaving them. 

“Don't force it”, they said. “It does not work out. Not in the long run.” 

A/N: This is the last chapter for this year! I posted it early because of Christmas. Chapter 39 will be posted on January 9th. I am not yet sure about chapter 38 – I guess it will be posted at some point of the first week of January. 

Merry Christmas to all of you!


	41. Chapter Thirty-Eight: Not a monster

It had been a nice day, all in all, Sasuke thought on his way home with Naruto. After playing football they had had barbecue and he had got into a row with Naruto about using his katon though he had promised not to when he just knew more about keeping a fire alive than Naruto did. Later in the evening the grown-ups had some wine in the living-room and listened to Suigetsu's CD, and Karin had told some amusing stories about her seminar on medical ninjutsu.

He had also got another present from Juugo, a personal present in addition to the dress shirt Juugo had bought from the money he had collected from everyone. In a quiet moment he had made Sasuke follow him into a far-off corner of the garden where his friends had already been assembled and had presented him a very small parcel. All the kids had watched impatiently as Sasuke opened it, hoping he'd like it, as he thought, and he had hoped that it would not be as useless as Suigetsu's and Karin's presents. It turned out to be far worse: A bookmark calender with pictures of naked men. Sasuke stared at it for some seconds in a mixture of embarrassment, fascination and annoyance, which all turned into anger when he saw that Juugo collected some marbles from his friends.

“It was a bet”, Juugo explained. “First, that I'd dare to buy it, second that I'd dare to give it to you, third that you'd like it. You like it, don't you?”

Sasuke did not know what to say. He was angry but he did not want to rob Juugo of his triumph, and also, he had looked far too long at the calendar to pretend that he was not interested or even disgusted.

“I do”, he had said, and now, walking silently next to Naruto, he thought the calendar the best of all the presents he had got this day.

It had been a nice day, his first birthday not celebrated with his family but with friends, even though nobody had known how to properly celebrate a birthday. 

Naruto, who had been walking next to him, lost in his own thoughts, now spoke up.

“Would you have liked to be adopted?” he asked. 

Sasuke recalled what the term meant.

“No, I wouldn't”, he answered. “I would not have wanted to be anyone else's child. Foster parents might have been okay, if they had been ready to respect that I was still the heir of the Uchiha clan.”

He had never considered the possibility of having been taken in by other people, not even when Juugo's foster mothers had invited Juugo to live with them. He imagined it now – not yet with a lot of details, rather thinking of it than imagining it: some nice people as Juugo's foster mothers who'd have left him alone most of the time but who'd have called him to have meals with them, seeing that he was doing well, not just giving money to him that never lasted to the end of the month.

“I would have liked to be adopted”, Naruto said. “Someone who'd say: You are my child now!” 

Sasuke pondered his words. “But what about your real parents?” 

“I might have still searched for them.” Naruto thought about it. “Maybe my adopted parents would have told me that I had real parents, too. For a long time I had believed that I did not have any parents but that I had somehow sprung from the earth, until I understood that everyone has parents.”

Sasuke took his hand, just for a second.

“I wondered if I was some kind of monster even before I knew of the kyuubi. I thought that maybe my parents had abandoned me because I was a monster. Everyone shunned me, so I guessed my parents must have shunned me too.”

(There had been other times as well when Naruto had rather dreamt that everything would be fine if his parents just were alive and looked after him.)

“I'm sure they haven't”, Sasuke said. “I'm sure you weren't a monster. I'm sure you were an adorable kid.”

Again he reached out to Naruto. He felt insecure about it, being well aware of his desires, and not wanting to scare away Naruto.

Naruto knew that his father had not abandoned him. He did not want to tell Sasuke however that his father had turned him into a monster. He still did not have any idea about his mother.

“It was the village that ostracized you”, Sasuke said, “making you think you were a monster, and then confirming it when they told you about the kyuubi, forgetting that it is only sealed up within you.”

“Not everyone”, Naruto contradicted. “Iruka insisted that I was human. When I heard it I thought he would take me in and become my father but he didn't.”

“He's not married”, Sasuke said. “He would not have managed.”

“Sure. He just invited me to ramen on a regular basis, and not even at his own home, but only at Ichiraku's.” 

For some seconds they walked in silence.

“But Juugo was really considered a monster”, Naruto continued. “They turned him out because of his superpowers.”

Sasuke did not intend to tell Naruto about Juugo's homicidal impulses. He still had a bad conscience for not telling Juugo's foster mothers about them, and still he feared that something might happen to their kids.

“How could they! He's such a wonderful child. Just because he's different! And Haku too was turned out just because he was different with his kekkei genkai.” 

Sasuke remembered Haku, but he did not remember his story as he had been unconscious when Haku had told it.

“But now Juugo's happy”, Sasuke said. “Maybe here Haku would have found caring foster parents too.” 

“Probably. Here they don't think that a child should live on their own, monster or not.”

“They are different here. They don't teach their children to fight, but they teach them to comfort people even before they can speak.”

Naruto thought of the kids: He remembered well the smallest one who had been adopted because his mother was just sixteen.

“That little guy? What did he do?” 

“He climbed on my lap.”

“What's great about that? Anyone can do that!”

Sasuke thought whether he should ask Naruto to do it but thought better of it.

“You would not have wanted it from me or Sakura back in Konoha. You always shut yourself off from us then.”

He paused and Sasuke thought a second time of asking Naruto to sit on his lap now.

“It's not as if people in Konoha don't know how to comfort each other!” Naruto continued. “Sakura often looked after you when you were wounded and would embrace you, but you always shoved her back!”

“Sakura!” Sasuke exclaimed. “She did not want to comfort me! It was always just a pretext for touching me.”

“Well, she loves you”, Naruto replied.

“But I don't love her! Not in that way, anyway.”

Naruto felt hurt and rejected for Sakura's sake. “You'll change your mind when you see how she truly cares for you”, he said.

Sasuke wondered how they had got into a row again. He did not like it. He considered using the opportunity to tell Naruto that he was gay, but he did not feel like it. He felt just angry, at himself as well as at Naruto, and he did not want to end his birthday in this way. He pointed at a bar at the other end of the street. 

“Let's have a drink over there”, he said. “It's my birthday after all: I'll invite you.” 

Naruto agreed, thinking of his original plans for Sasuke's birthday, celebrating just by themselves. Sasuke entered first and then headed for the sofa in the corner. 

“You may sit on my lap now”, he suggested to Naruto. 

Naruto looked at him confusedly, then he refused. “You don't need to be comforted, do you?” 

Sasuke shook his head, and Naruto sat down next to him. They were quite close like this too, and Sasuke enjoyed it, while Naruto, though normally he also enjoyed being close to Sasuke, still felt irritated by Sasuke's suggestion that he might sit on his lap. 

They did not talk much, they rather looked around. It was an odd small bar, narrow but leading a long way into the building, with a winter garden in the back. It was much cheaper than the restaurant they worked at, with the furniture all darkened wood and dark red artificial leather. Theirs was not the only sofa, there were others occupied with couples deeply absorbed in their kisses. Others couples were sitting at tables, sometimes carefully touching each others hands. Sasuke thought they were courting but when he closely listened to the couple next to him they rather sounded as if they were breaking up. 

There were also people who were just friends, and Sasuke made a game of finding out who of those who were not actually kissing were lovers and who were just friends. 

Lover or friends, he realized, it was an odd mixture of people here: business people in suits, couples dressed up for a date, some guys in workers' overalls coming from their late shift, an elderly woman talking to another woman who might have been her daughter, age-wise, but obviously was not related to her. There was a whole group of elderly women, tourists from Earth country as Sasuke discovered after listening to their conversation for some time, discussing the beauty and oddness of Music Town. On the other end of the spectrum were the punks, some in couples, some in groups, and a few artists, showing their vocation by means of their unconventional clothes. 

Their own presence at the place, strange as it was, only added another flavour to the mixture, or rather another colour, Sasuke thought looking at Naruto's orange jacket. 

“Everyone is served here, monster or not”, he said when the waitress brought the drinks. “Everyone is accepted in this town.”

“You like it here, don't you”, Naruto said. 

“I do.”

“I like it too”, Naruto answered. “But it's not the same as Konoha.” 

It is better, Sasuke thought, but he was wise enough not to speak his thoughts.

Their first dance lesson with that same-sex group was approaching. Sasuke was looking forward to it, obviously, and was all excited about it. He had bought a new shirt, simple in design but made from shiny black silk, he purchased a shaving-set and shaved off the scarce black stubble that grew on his upper lip (Naruto had to admit however that his saving lotion smelled good), he arranged his hair in the weirdest manner Naruto had ever seen. He wondered whether Sasuke was aware of what he was doing. 

He himself was rather worried. These last days he had often thought of what would happen in this dance class, with all these gay men looking at Sasuke and planning to have him for themselves. One night he had even dreamt of it: They had been dancing on some kind of stage, Sasuke wearing the shirt he had worn at Orochimaru's lair, and a lot of men had watched them, reaching out to Sasuke, and suddenly Sasuke had been among them, his shirt off, and the men had been groping his chest. Naruto was glad that he had woken up before anything worse had happened: The dream had been disturbing enough as it was, and it was even more disturbing that he had woken up with an erection. Some cold water had helped him get rid of the problem: something he would not do on other days. Normally he would finish what nature had begun, taking care that Sasuke did not notice. He returned to the room but not to the bed; he sat in his chair and looked at his friend: Far too pretty for your own good, he thought, remembering how Orochimaru had craved Sasuke's body.

The new dance class was at a different place than the previous one: Not a place that had been built as a dance school but an old-fashioned former restaurant with some large rooms in the upper stores that could be rented for weddings or balls. Now it was a community center with a library, some rooms for seminars, a hall for lectures, and a cafeteria on the ground floor. The rooms in the basement could be rented by musicians who wanted to practise, and some rooms in the upper stores were still used for dancing. 

The room their own dance class was held in still showed that it used to be a ballroom for private balls. It was much smaller than the one of their previous dance class, and chairs were stacked and tables pushed to the wall. One wall was still covered in mirrors, but there was a curtain, if people did not want to watch themselves. There were also much fewer people than in the previous dance class, and to Sasuke's disappointment almost all of them were women. Fortunately they were all lesbians and stuck to themselves. Also, while they were waiting for the dancing to begin, some more male couples arrived. 

The male dance teacher of the other dance class was there too, selling drinks, and Naruto volunteered to buy Sasuke and himself some coke respectively coffee. He felt more confident among these homosexuals if he was busy with something, though actually when he had said: “Let's go and get some drinks!” he had expected Sasuke to join, not to say: “Get me some coffee too!” and find himself a place where he could be seen by everyone. Naruto kept turning around to him while he was waiting in queue. 

When it was his turn, the dance teacher gave him a particularly warm welcome.

“Great to see you here too”, he said. “You have talent, you know. If you had decided to stay at the other dance class we would have found you a talented girl, but like this it's easier, and of course it's nice for Sasuke that we won't have to look for a new partner for him, which would have been more difficult.”

“Yeah, I guess so. He's a bit weird and you have to know him well to get along with him.” 

The dance teacher looked confused. 

“I'm his friend, though, and won't forsake him”, Naruto continued. “Besides, I have to protect him. I won't let him fall prey to all these gay men.”

The dance teacher no longer looked confused but seriously annoyed. Naruto remembered that the man was gay too and realized that he had made a mistake.

“I don't have anything against you, or against gay people in general”, he said. “I just don't want anyone to lay hands on my friend.”

“You think people are going to do this?” 

“It's bound to happen. He's pretty, isn't he?” 

“He's certainly a good-looking guy”, the dance teacher said cautiously, but smiling again, and Naruto was glad of it, as he wanted to be on good terms with everyone, gay or not.

“I don't want to keep you from doing your work”, the dance teacher said, turning to his own work and beginning to wash the used glasses. “Judging from his behaviour, I am sure he'll fall prey to someone rather soon. You will be busy.”

Naruto turned to see what the dance teacher was referring to. Sasuke was acting weird: Looking around and actually smiling at people, and as far as Naruto could tell, people smiled back. He was playing with his hair, rearranging it so that it looked even weirder than before, he was leaning back, his arms resting on the back of the neighbouring chairs, showing off his chest, and Naruto was just glad that he had kept enough sense not to open the buttons of his shirt. 

He saw in shock that one couple was actually changing into shirts that offered insights to their chests and also their bellies – bellies without a grain of fat, as Naruto had to admit – but the other men and all the women wore normal clothes, jeans and T-shirts mostly, meaning that Sasuke was rather overdressed than Naruto underdressed. He did not seem to mind, however, he just smiled at everyone, and then, realizing that Naruto was watching him, he smiled at him too. Actually he smiled wider at Naruto than at anyone else, and Naruto could not help but return the smile, even though he was still annoyed.

Sasuke got up and joined him. “Shall we dance?” he asked.

“Sure”, he answered, feeling nervous suddenly. “That's what we came for, isn't it?”


	42. Chapter Thirty-Nine: Equality Dancing

They deposited their drinks on one of the tables and began to dance. After a short time the dance teacher joined them to explain to them how things were organized in this group: There'd be fifteen minutes of each dance, time to train for each couple, while he would go around and correct details. Most of the other couples had their own sequence they would present at the tournament, but with the two of them he'd focus on teaching the regular figures. Only with one dance of each section he'd discuss a figure with the whole group. 

For this lesson he had chosen a rumba figure (mostly for Sasuke's and Naruto's sake, as this was the dance they knew best), and rumba also happened to be what they were just dancing. He assembled the group to present them a rather complicated figure that everyone except Sasuke and Naruto seemed to know, and after recapitulating the steps he began to explain where to look and how to move your arms and how exactly to set you feet. 

“For you it's enough if you learn the steps!” he told the boys, but nonetheless they also paid attention when he talked about details and did their best to remember them all when it was finally time to practise. 

It was an agreeable atmosphere, Naruto thought, without the tension that had resulted from the fact that most of the boys were more nervous about asking a girl to dance with them than about the dancing itself. Here everyone had their partner, and while in the other dance class he and Sasuke had been considered among the best dancers, at least of the boys, here they were beginners while everyone else had been dancing for years. One of the couples was aiming for the highest class at the tournament, and every now and then Naruto stood and watched in fascination how they moved elegantly and softly and still showing off their strength in extravagant figures. It was not, by the way, the couple with open shirts: They wore everyday clothes and only when they danced you could tell their level. 

With Sasuke it was even worse; in the beginning he had difficulties to focus on their own dancing so badly was he absorbed in watching.

It was also a nice change that the dance teachers never talked of girls and boys respectively ladies and gentlemen, but just of those who led and those who followed. It was not really Naruto's problem as Sasuke had volunteered to follow, but for Sasuke's sake he was glad that he was not called a girl. 

They learnt the basic steps of Cha-Cha and Samba, but with Paso Doble they were told to step aside and watch, just as about half of the group. The dancers stood proud and fierce, waiting for the music to start, and then they kept moving in circles around each other, moving their hands in an elaborate way. 

“Don't use your Sharingan!” Naruto said again.

Sasuke had not dreamt of it – he was far too busy just watching. He was happy as he had not been in a long time. Nobody here had any issues that he was dancing with Naruto, on the contrary, this was what was normal here. All the men seemed friendly and good-looking to him, and he wanted to be considered friendly and good-looking by them, too, which was why he kept messing with his hair. When the break started he went to the bathroom to see how it actually looked. 

Naruto in the meantime discussed some minor details with the dance teacher, as how much the class cost, and whether they might get some refund from their previous dance school. He expected that Sasuke would join him when he returned from the bathroom, but he did not. Naruto saw with horror that he had added a new layer of gel to his hair and a red scarf to his outfit, and that he had indeed opened the two top most buttons of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves, showing off his lower arms. He sat down at the table where their drinks were waiting and returned to his previous occupation of looking around and smiling at people. He even smiled at the women, and they returned his smiles, though rather irritatedly.

This time his efforts paid off: One of the men joined him and sat down next to him. Naruto got nervous and kept turning around to see what Sasuke was doing but he could not leave the dance teacher who gave him more and more information about training times and opportunities to practise and balls and dance teas on Sundays and excursions when the whole dance school went canoeing on the local river. It would all have been interesting if in the meantime Sasuke had not been talking animatedly to that gay man. 

Sasuke was very pleased that one of the group had come to talk to him. 

“You're new here”, the man had started the conversation stating the obvious and then asked where they had danced before. Sasuke told him of the other dance-school and how annoying it had been that the other teenagers had not really cared about dancing but only about meeting girls, how it had taken them ages to understand the simplest figures and how he and Naruto had been pressured to separate. 

“If I had known that there are dance classes just for gay people I'd have come immediately”, he said.

“Here you'd have been just as annoyed at people in the beginners' groups for grown-ups learning to tell their right foot from their left foot and learning to count to three”, the man said. “And also, they are dominated by women. It's quite a good idea that you joined this group. Do you plan to dance at tournaments?”

“Yes. We were told that we might succeed in the beginners' class.”

“Sure you may. You mastered that rumba figure quite quickly. And actually, learning steps and figures is not that important. It's rather how you move, and you're both really talented in that respect.”

Naruto had finally managed to break away from the discussion with the dance teacher and was now free to join Sasuke and the man he was talking to. 

“I just told your friend: You learnt that figure really quickly”, the man told him when he arrived.

Naruto glared at him.

“You don't need to compliment him”, he said.

The man looked irritated. “Your friend's rather possessive”, he told Sasuke.

“Protective, not possesive”, Naruto replied, sitting down and laying his arm around Sasuke's shoulders.

“The compliment was for both of us”, Sasuke said, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed by Naruto's behaviour (even though normally he liked having Naruto's arm around his shoulders.)

“Sure, both of you learnt that figure really fast”, the man said. 

Naruto let go off Sasuke. “Sure. Thanks. Sure we did. It's not that difficult, is it?” 

“Most people only learn it when they are at least a year into dancing.” 

“Do they? But it's just steps, isn't it?” 

“If you put it like that – yes, it's just steps. You'll understand soon that dancing is much more than just steps.”

“Yeah, you can also hold each other in your arms”, Naruto said, laying his arm again around Sasuke's shoulders. (It was okay here, wasn't it?) 

“For those who still need a pretext this is of course an important point”, the man said. “Anyway, feel welcome here. We are having a lot of fun, both with dancing and otherwise. I'm sure you'll like it.”

He left them.

“You drove him away!” Sasuke said, regretting the man's departure.

“He was obtrusive”, Naruto replied. “Thinking he could just sit down next to you and talk to you. Now, let's dance again. It's English Waltz now.”

Holding Sasuke, with Sasuke's hand lying gently on his upper arm, giving gentle signs where to move, but also always making sure that Sasuke was able to follow. Communicating by contact, Naruto thought. He was enchanted. 

When the music stopped the dance teacher again assembled the whole group to show them how you moved upward with the second beat and lowered your weight again with the third beat so that your whole movement resembled a gentle wave. They practised rising and sinking with the basic steps, so that he and Sasuke were just as good as anyone else – not as good as the top couples, of course, whose movements were soft and in harmony in a way Naruto could only dream of. 

“We'll learn that too”, he whispered into Sasuke's ear, taking his hand.

It turned out more difficult than he would have believed, and more than once he and Sasuke ended up discussing whose fault it was that they had messed up. 

Tango was rather weird, not smooth but energetic, and you did not have to smile. Both of them had to get used to leading and following via their bellies and hips, and they were far too close to feel comfortable. Viennese Waltz was better: Leading happened again via arms and shoulders and they had fun turning quickly and taking the room in long strides, moving not as two persons but as one single entity. 

With Quickstep, Naruto allowed Sasuke to lead. There was no problem in changing roles for one dance out of eight, and anyway, here you were not grouped with the girls for following. He enjoyed it, actually, responding to any increase or release of pressure from Sasuke and sensing in advance which figure Sasuke intended to dance. Their eyes hardly met, but if they did, he saw Sasuke smiling in formerly unknown bliss. Naruto felt happy, too.

“It was a good idea to come here”, he told Sasuke when the lesson had ended. “We've learnt more in one lesson than in two at the other class, and it's nice not to be stared at, and not to be asked any stupid questions as whether you might be gay.” 

Sasuke felt being stared at at this very moment, because of Naruto's stupid remark and also because of the fact that everyone else was changing shoes. He'd have to ask about those special shoes the other dancers were wearing. 

“As a child I received enough stares to last me for a lifetime”, Naruto continued. “I don't need any more of it.”

Sasuke remembered well. He also remembered how he himself had been stared at after the massacre in a weird mixture of horror and pity, but always across a wide abyss. 

“I'm sorry”, he said. “I should not have urged you to dance with me at that other dance school.”

“Oh, it's okay”, Naruto answered, returning to his normal optimistic mood. “It was fun anyway.”

It occured to him that if Sasuke had told him that he had enregistered to a dance class for gay people he would probably have declined - it would have sounded to him, like a class for having gay sex - now he was confident that it was only about dancing, even more than in that other class where getting to know girls was the primary motivation of most boys. Here everyone had brought their partner.

Only that Sasuke himself was still busy looking at the other men and attracting their smiles, as if he had not brought a partner too. Naruto was getting more and more irritated. Now he had again invited one of these men to approach them. 

“We always go to some pub when we've finished dancing”, the man said. “You want to join?” 

“Sure”, Sasuke answered before Naruto could open his mouth.


	43. Chapter Forty: A Network

Naruto realized that there was no way of persuading Sasuke not to join and that he'd better join too in order to keep an eye on him. It turned out to be rather difficult, however, as Naruto was drawn into conversation by one of the men who explained to him that they just went to the pub on the other side of the street, which was all in all an ordinary pub, but specialized in dark beer and a very specific kind of harp music that sounded as if it was possible to dance to it, though he did not know how. 

When they sat down at a long table (the men at one end, the women at the other) Naruto and Sasuke ended up opposite of each other instead of side by side, which Naruto would have preferred. Now he was not able to lay his arm around Sasuke's shoulders in case of need, he could only watch him and listen to his conversation and hope that nothing happened. 

It did not take long before the man next to Sasuke addressed him: 

“It's rare that we get such a young couple in our group. Most young gay men nowadays won't engage in such a female connotated activity as dancing but rather insist that they are just like other men. They'll turn up in our beginners' classes when they are in their twenties, I guess, and no longer have to prove that they are real men.” 

“Really?” Sasuke asked. “But why? What's unmanly about dancing?” 

The man shrugged. “I don't know either. It's always been considered for girls, I think. In former times when it was more difficult to admit even to oneself that one was gay a boy's homosexuality often showed in preferences that were considered unmanly, as dancing, while at the same time they insisted that they were straight. Now coming out is easier, and young men rather try to prove that they are normal in every other aspect. So it's always been rare that men of your age turn up in equality dancing groups – formerly they danced with girls, now they engage in allegedly more manly sports.” 

“I did not think it's rare”, Sasuke said. “I saw the dance tournament on that festival a few weeks ago and thought it was normal here. Now you say it's much more complicated.”

“It's always been complicated and it always will, I guess, even though the situation really has improved. So you're not from here – where are you from?”

“Konoha.”

“Oh.”

Sasuke wondered what was wrong with his answer.

“It often happens that young men from the ninja nations come to Music Town because here they can be openly gay but it's rare that we get refugees from the ninja villages themselves. They tend to be rather possessive concerning their young shinobi.”

Sasuke got nervous.

“They have civilians there too”, the man next to the speaker said. “They might be civilians.”

The one who had spoken first looked Sasuke over from head to toe, or rather to the elbows as they were sitting next to each other at a table. 

“You betray yourself when you move. Particularly when you dance but also when you walk.”

“I'm a ninja too”, Naruto said. “I'm just as skilled as Sasuke.”

The men around him stared at him and sought for words. Sasuke knew why: Naruto did not move in the catlike, economic way of most ninjas, but abounded with energy like a young dog. 

“You know how to move, too”, they said,. “You are certainly a talented dancer.”

Naruto smiled, but he was still irritated because of the attention Sasuke was receiving. He was jealous of Sasuke and jealous for Sasuke's sake at the same time.

“So you're from Konoha too?” the man next to him asked. 

Naruto heard that someone was talking to him, but he had not got the words. The man had to repeat them.

“Sure, I am from Konoha too”, he answered.

“How long have you been here?” 

“Some three months.”

“Have you managed to integrate a bit?”

Naruto had never heard that word. 

“Have you already found some friends?”

“I have found Sasuke”, Naruto said.

“Friends among the locals, I mean. You've come with Sasuke, haven't you?”

“I have”, Naruto said, not wanting to explain to a stranger that things were much more complicated.

Sasuke, in the meantime, was being asked similar questions by the guy sitting next to him.

“How are you doing here? Have you found a place to stay at? Do you have a job, or some other source of income? We have a network to support young gay men who've run away from home. I've told you, it happens regularly. My own partner” - he laid his hand on the hand of the man sitting next to him - “is from Earth Country. He's a civilian, however.”

“You're kind but we have a flat, and we have jobs too”, Sasuke answered.

“We can also help you reestablish contact with your parents”, the man continued. “I told you we help out young gay men who've run away from home or who got turned out and disowned for being gay, but this does not mean that we support break-ups within families. We try to help them come to terms with their families again. We can help you negotiate with your parents and explain to to them that there's nothing wrong about being gay, and persuade them to accept you as a gay man. We have a lot of experience with this - in most cases both parents and son are relieved when there's nothing to hide any more.”

“It won't be necessary”, Sasuke said, frozen, so that it took him an effort to talk. “My parents are both dead.”

“Oh.” The man was silent immediately. “I am sorry”, he added after a few seconds of thinking. “I guess you wish you were one of those who had to leave because their parents disapproved of them being gay so that there would still be a chance for reconciliation.”

“My mother would not have turned me out”, Sasuke said. “She loved me. And my brother would have accepted me too. My father – he would have given in, eventually. I was the younger brother, so it would not have mattered.”

“What about your brother? Is he still alive? Does he know you're gay.”

“He's dead too.”

“Do you have any other siblings?”

“No.”

“It must have been horrible to be all alone all of a sudden.”

“It was.”

“But you must still have some friends in Konoha who care about you. We can help you contact them and make them accept you.”

“It's not necessary”, Sasuke repeated. “The only one who cares for me is Naruto and he's with me.”

“I can hardly believe this”, the man said. “You surely must have had more friends. - What about local authorities? Informing them that you are living a lawful life here, asking them not to regard you as a rogue-nin, telling them that you'll return as soon as you are allowed to be openly gay, if that is what you want.”

Sasuke sought for words. The man continued before he had found any.

“We have a lot more experience negotiating with parents than government officials, I have to admit, and we don't have any experience with the tight military hierarchy of Ninja Villages. But I am sure there is a way. Maybe you need the support of our own government: do you already have an official status?”

“No”, Sasuke answered hesitatingly. The man's speech had gone quite over his head.

“You should get one. Gay people are granted official status easily as everyone knows how they are treated elsewhere, even if open prosecution has ended. When you have an official status the town will support you and protect you against requests to deliver you to Konoha, and if you want they can also help you make a deal so that you can return on your own conditions.”

“It will be difficult with Danzou in power”, the man from Earth Country interrupted his partner to Sasuke's great relief. Finally someone showed some common sense.

“Well, I guess Danzou's not a man who can be negotiated with. Yet he won't be Hokage forever, and one day negotiations will make sense.”

He looked at Sasuke, expecting some answer from him. 

“Our plan is that Naruto shall be the next Hokage”, Sasuke said. “Then returning won't be a problem.”

The man was speechless, much to Sasuke's satisfaction.

“That's quite an ambitious plan”, he finally said. “Haven't you thought of an easier way?”

“There is none.”

The man shrugged. “It's your decision. Anyway, for the time being, don't hesitate to ask for help. You say you already have what everyone needs most urgently: Money and a place to stay at. We can still help you in other matters, for example if you need any advice about local laws, or have difficulties understanding our customs. We have a group of people from the ninja countries that meets every second week to help each other dealing with local authorities, or just to discuss what confuses them about this place. It sometimes helps to talk to other immigrants from the same place.”

“I don't care about talking to people from Konoha”, Sasuke said. “Or people from Fire Country, or any other of the Ninja Nations. They all function according to the same rules. This place works differently, and I want to learn its rules, not meet people who still follow the rules of the ninja countries.”

“Well, then. It's your choice. Just tell me when you change your mind.”

Sasuke realized he had to be friendlier not to make the man feel rejected. “It's kind of you to offer us your help. Maybe you can tell me where I can get those shoes you are all wearing.”

“Certainly”, the man answered, sounding relieved that his offer for help was finally accepted. 

They did not stay for much longer. One man had to leave, and soon everyone was getting up. Naruto was glad, as it meant that he was now able to keep a close eye on Sasuke, He was at his side as soon as they were outside the pub's door.

“We'll see you soon”, the man who had offered help to Sasuke said. “On Friday there's free training, and on Sunday there will be a dance tea. Will you come?” 

“Sure we will”, Sasuke answered. 

“They are really nice”, Naruto said when he and Sasuke were finally on their own, walking home side by side. “They don't ask about school. Instead, I told them about our jobs and said we're underpaid and that we should ask for more money. They're also invited us to play football with them on Sunday.”

“You cannot play football.”

“I can. On your birthday I scored twice against Juugo's friends.”

“These are grown-up men.” 

“Do you doubt that I can keep up with them?” 

Sasuke was wise enough not to answer.

“And you don't use your Sharingan”, Naruto continued. 

“I don't intend to.”

He had used it sometimes when they had watched matches of the top league, but only to see through their actions when they played foul, not to copy their skills at actually playing the ball. 

“We'll show them what true ninja are capable of”, Naruto said, laying his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. “They're okay though. If only they weren't trying to seduce you.”

“What?” Sasuke asked. “Who was trying to seduce me?” 

“The guy who was talking to you all the time.”

“He was talking, no more.”

“That's how it starts.”

He drew Sasuke closer to himself. Sasuke wondered whether he should talk more to Naruto, in order to seduce him. It was difficult, however, as normally Naruto did most of the talking. 

“You talk to me, too”, he said.

“That's different. We're friends.”


	44. Chapter Forty-One: True Mothers, and a Sport for True Men

Life got busy suddenly with dance lessons more than once a week and an evening for free training in the bargain. Naruto had to negotiate with the patron's daughter to get them more evenings off and some shifts in the afternoon to make up for it. The worst was that on Saturdays they had to work from early morning (eleven a.m. to be exact) until the restaurant closed. Naruto would not admit that these days wore him out, and in consequence Sasuke would not either. They would however own up to regretting that it was no longer possible to watch football matches on Saturday afternoons. 

Playing football themselves was much more fun than watching anyway, as they discovered when they met with that group of young gay men on Sunday morning. They were warmly welcomed by the whole group when their acquaintances from the dance class introduced them as newcomers who had just eloped from Konoha. 

“Konoha, eh” one of the men asked. “Are you ninja?”

“Sure we are”, Naruto answered. 

“Do you know how to play football then?”

“Sure we do”, Naruto said.

They were put into one team first but soon the rest of their side complained that they were rather playing against each other than with each other and demanded that they be split up. The effect was that they spent the rest of the time guarding each other, with the result that the other players did not pass them the ball. They had fun all the same, even Sasuke, who had not been that enthusiastic about playing football in the beginning. He got infected by Naruto's ambition to keep him away from the ball and tried to do the same to him.

Only when the match was over their teams explained to them that they had to try to escape their opponent when their own team was in possession of the ball.

“Not me”, Naruto replied. “I don't run away from anyone.”

They tried a different approach. “You try to achieve a goal, and that goal is to score, not to beat your opponent. You avoid your opponent who tries to prevent you from achieving your goal, you don't seek him out.”

“That may be true for you”, Naruto said. “But I don't need to be careful. I'm not afraid of anyone.”

“Is this how you work as a ninja?”

“Sure!”

Naruto smiled and the men he had talked to gave up as they had run out of arguments. He was enjoying himself immensely even though people were making fun of him, and he liked the gay men he had played football with. They were pretty laid-back, more humourous than the dancers (though there was some overlap between both groups), they were younger in average, and though he and Sasuke were still the youngest of the group they did not stand out as much as they had among the dancers.

They also seemed manlier to him, and he learnt that they too thought of themselves as manlier than the dancers when he told them that he had play invited to play football at their dance class.

“You don't have to do girlish stuff like dancing just because you're gay”, they said. “You can still play football just as any other man.”

Naruto considered asking Sasuke to abandon dancing and switch to football instead but then he remembered that Sasuke really loved dancing and that he would probably continue it with a new partner – a man, Naruto realized - if he, Naruto, quit. 

It was not that unmanly, Naruto decided, at least not for him, as he was still leading in all dances except Quickstep. Also, he actually liked dancing, and he also liked that they got a lot of compliments at their dance class while the football players had mostly made fun of him. He enjoyed it too that with dancing he got to know a lot of people, not only the regulars at the restaurant, to whom he was obliged to be friendly all the time, while with the gay dancers and also the footballers he was more ready to speak his mind. 

(Sasuke just wished that he might be more careful when it came to expressing his prejudices against gay people.) 

He got along with people all the same, and also, he slowly lost his paranoia: There was no danger of Sasuke being seduced by anyone in the near future. He was still doing his best to smile at people and invite them to their table but when it came to actually talking to them Naruto was still much better than him. (Sasuke might be pretty, he thought, even breathtakingly beautiful in some moments when he was happy and smiling, but this was not all that mattered.) 

Sasuke in his turn was rather annoyed by Naruto's behaviour. He wondered why Naruto considered it appropriate to do considerably more than fifty percent of the talking when he was engaged in a conversation, and he felt particularly annoyed that Naruto effectively excluded him from the conversation by answering every question that was directed at the two of them before Sasuke even had opened his mouth. 

Nonetheless he had managed to make friends with the guy he had talked to on the first evening, also with his partner, the guy from Earth Country. They had told him that they were actually married, which was possible here. (Juugo's fostermothers however were not. They considered marriage a patriarchal institution they did not want to have a share in.)

Naruto remained suspicious of the men even though Sasuke had told him that they were married and even though he understood that they were not looking for an extramarital affair. He just could not stop the images of one or the other or even both of them molesting Sasuke that turned up in mind in the evenings: They'd take off his shirt and sometimes also his pants, and then they'd touch him: his arms, his face, his chest, his belly, and if Naruto could not stop these images before Sasuke was completely naked they'd also touch his thighs and his backside. Naruto forced himself to cut off the pictures when the men touched Sasuke's genitals and he never imagined anal sex. Even thinking of it in abstract made him shrink back, and he felt an urge to protect his friend and sometimes laid his hand on his shoulder, but only when Sasuke was fast asleep and the shoulder was covered by a blanket. It was all rather disturbing and he took care not to let Sasuke notice anything.

The weirdest moments were those when he actually talked to the couple, which happened often, not only because Sasuke was friends with them but also because they were aiming for the beginners' class as well so that it seemed natural to ask them for information and advice. Naruto had a bad conscience because of these mental images as the men were obviously friendly and caring and did not make any open attempts to seduce Sasuke: They just meant well. Only the images of them molesting Sasuke kept turning up in his mind when they talked. 

Sasuke himself seemed completely oblivious of any danger of being seduced. 

They practised dancing as often as they could but they skipped the Dance Tea because they had been invited to lunch by Juugo's fostermothers on Sunday. It had happened like this: One afternoon Juugo's new little sisters, the girls who had ruined Sasuke's birthday cake in their attempt of decorating it, turned up in the restaurant and invited Sasuke to live with them. Apparently the fact that his whole family was dead had continued to bother them, and this was the solution they had come up with. Sasuke had thanked them and declined to Naruto's relief, telling them that he wanted to live with his friend who'd be lonely without him.

The girls had looked at Naruto, who had felt very embarrassed (and also annoyed at Sasuke) as he did not like to be pitied, least of all by a bunch of little girls, and asked him whether this was true. He had been honest however and told them that it was: Living in Music Town had become unimaginable without Sasuke. The girls had nodded at him in understanding. 

The next day they had turned up with their mothers, who as it turned out had not had any idea of their daughters' invitation to Sasuke. They changed it into an invitation to lunch and tea and made sure that Naruto knew that he was invited too. Naruto felt weird, as if he was invited only for the sake of pity, but when Sasuke accepted the invitation in the name of both of them he could not decline. At least it meant that they did not have to cook on Sundays.

He was not sure what to make of these women. It was not so much that they were lesbians, though the lack of a grown-up man in the family still irritated him. (They thanked him however for standing in as a male role model and playing football with their sons, something they were not good at. They also asked him to make sure to include the girls into the game as they resented the idea that football should be an exclusively male sport.) 

What irritated him about them was the way they cared about everything and everyone, whether they needed it or not. They even urged some food on them when they left, and a collection of fancy tea cups they did not need any more. 

“In case you have guests”, they said. 

Naruto did not know how to answer but luckily Sasuke managed to politely turn down the offer of food and accept the cups.

“As if we could not buy our own food”, Naruto said when they were safely on their way home. “And choose our own cups.”

“You don't understand”, Sasuke replied. “They are mothers and act like true mothers, even towards us.”

(Actually it had been his grandmother who had forced stuff on his mother that they did not need.)

“You can't know that of course”, he continued.

Naruto felt hurt, all the more as he felt that Sasuke had hurt him on purpose. He tried to shake off Sasuke's hand on his shoulder, but Sasuke held him fast and Naruto would have had to break away by force which he did not want.

“Don't run away. You will have to learn to accept a true mother's love.”

Naruto was silent and remained so, and when they had arrived at his place he busied himself with tidying up his table while Sasuke went down to fetch the weekend's newspapers from the restaurant. 

One of the first things Naruto found while going through the stacks of paper on his table was the bookmark calendar Juugo had given Sasuke for a birthday present. It was quite on top actually, only covered by a teacup. Naruto stared at it in shock, flipped through it, looked at the pictures. They were not that bad actually – all in black and white, the men quite good-looking, photographed in an aesthetic way, not obscene at all, and only two of the pictures showed the men's genitals. Still they were disturbing in the way they presented themselves to the viewer.

When Sasuke returned with the newspapers Naruto confronted him.

“What's this?” he asked.

“A bookmark calendar”, Sasuke replied.

“I figured out so much by myself. How did it get here? Did one of your admirers give it to you to turn you gay?”

For a moment Sasuke looked hurt, than he switched to the cold and arrogant expression that had been typical for him as a child.

“Juugo gave it to me as a birthday present. I don't know if he counts as an admirer.”

“So why are you keeping it?” 

“It's a present. You don't get rid of a present, do you? Besides the pictures are beautiful.”

He smiled again, and then joined Naruto who was leaning against the table. Their shoulders almost touched. He took the calendar out of Naruto's hands and went through the pages.

“Now which one's the most handsome in your opinion?” he asked.

Naruto had already chosen: The guy on the page for February, who looked at bit like Sasuke, but nothing in the world would make him admit it.

“None. I don't care.”

Sasuke's physical proximity suddenly confused him as it had never before. He left the table and put on his sandals. 

“Juugo will have to answer for it”, he said. 

Sasuke watched him leave. He'll return! he told himself. It's his place after all. Still he was nervous and felt quite relieved when Naruto was back just in time for their shift. 

“Juugo's still alive, I hope”, he said. 

“I don't kill children”, Naruto answered.


	45. Chapter Forty-Two: What about you, Naruto?

Naruto did not kill children, but he wanted to hold responsible someone for all these new, troubling developments. The two lesbian mothers had explained to him that no one became gay from looking at pictures of naked men, which had made sense to him as he had not turned gay from it either; still he wanted to direct his anger at someone, and he decided for the shop that had sold the offensive item to Juugo. 

“What kind of shop is allowed to sell pornographic material to kids?” he asked. “In Konoha, people still know what's appropriate.”

“Yeah, they've tightened the rules for censorship now”, one of the women replied, showing him an article from Saturday's newspaper. “And not for those with erotic content.”

Naruto was silent. Praising Konoha was difficult with Danzou in power.

“What did the photos show?” the other woman asked. “Just naked men or were they making out?”

“Just naked men. Only one man per picture.”

“You can get that kind of stuff at every bookshop. Gay men and straight women will buy it.”

“But not twelve-year-old boys.” 

“Weren't you interested in it when you were twelve?”

“I preferred pictures of naked women”, he said. “But I was not allowed to buy anything.” He had to do research for his Erotic no Jutsu, he remembered. Teasing the grown-up men had been fun, even though he had difficulties to understand their reaction. 

“It's not restricted material”, the first woman said. “Anyone is allowed to buy it. You don't think that Juugo will take any serious damage from seeing pictures of naked men?”

Naruto had to admit that he did not. Still he was not content, and he managed to make Juugo tell him where he had bought the calendar: At a shop quite near to his own place, a shop that had specialized on stuff needed by gay men.

Naruto decided to seek it out. He'd ask them what they had been thinking, allowing an underage boy to enter their shop. He had no idea what else they sold but he was sure that it was worse than some bookmark calendars. He would not tell Sasuke, of course.

There was also another matter he could not put off any longer: Talking to the prospective author of Jiraiya's biography. On Sunday when they had lunch with Juugo's new family Karin had been present too, and he had asked her to join him on that visit as he suspected that she was more skilled at talking and negotiating with a professional author. (Jiraiya did not count as a professional author, even though he had probably made more money with his novels than the woman they were going to meet: In Naruto's eyes, he was still mainly a ninja.) He had also finally decided to buy clothes that would allow him to better blend in with the locals than his orange fight suit, and asked Karin to join him for this too.

Sasuke, whom he had only told about the interview, also reminded him that he should suggest a new edition of the Gutsy Ninja. He had been worried about Naruto these last weeks, worried about his aimlessness and the fact that apparently he did not spend any time planning their revenge. (He, Sasuke was not without aim. He wanted to learn to dance, so that they might win that tournament, he wanted to learn about the customs of Music Town, and he wanted to seduce Naruto, though he was rather pessimistic about it with Naruto not showing any signs that he might reconsider being straight.)

Naruto thanked Sasuke for the suggestion and left, telling him they'd see each other for dancing. He had two hours before he would meet with Karin and Jiraiya's prospective biographer: He'd use the time to visit the store where Juugo had bought the calendar. It was located on the margins of the center of town, not where the shiny shops were but in a side street in an old, not very well preserved building. It was part of a community center too, but not a municipal one like the one where the dance classes took place: This one was a community center particularly for gay people, run by a private initiative. It housed the shop that sold pictures of naked men, an AIDS initiative, a counselling group for teenagers who needed support with their coming out, a group of parents of homosexual sons or daughters, and a cafe that looked as if it was led by amateurs: Much shabbier than the one he and Sasuke worked in, but it contained a large red sofa. Naruto could well imagine the guys sitting on it and making out. 

The cafe was still closed, but the shop was not. It also had an amateurish appearance, and judging from the number of flyers and leaflets on the walls, it was more a place to exchange information than to actually sell things. It looked empty: People seemed very trusting. 

Naruto looked around: There was indeed a large section of calendars of naked men. They came in all sizes, from tiny ones that fitted into a purse to large wall calendars. There were also posters and postcards, and also notebooks with two men kissing each other on the cover. The pictures came in varying degrees of obscenity, and the calendar Juugo had bought was actually among the more decent ones. Naruto went through a couple of calendars: sometimes his eyes caught a picture he liked – always one of the less explicit, more aesthetic ones, and always the guy looked a bit like Sasuke. Others confused or simply disturbed him. 

He put them away and had a look at the rest of the shop. There was an area where they sold condoms as they had on Gay Pride Day. There were coloured and flavoured ones and some had weird shapes. There was also a second room, separated with a rope from the rest of the shop: Leather section, no entry for persons under eighteen. Naruto tried to take a look inside, but it was a backroom with no windows and the lights were switched off. 

He looked further around: There was a large section of books and magazines. Some of the magazines seemed to contain mostly pictures of naked men but there were also others, printed on plain paper, with articles on questions that particularly concerned gay people, often with announcements of cultural events. Naruto found a special issue about queer movements in the ninja countries and took it from the rack to have a look inside: It contained pictures of good looking guys too (though all of them were fully dressed), but mostly it consisted of text: Articles about each of the five major Ninja Countries, another article about the first Gay Pride Parade in Amegakure, a rather small one that had ended in violence, and an article about the situation in the ninja villages themselves. Naruto searched for the last one: 

In the Ninja Countries, with their sole appreciation of strength and power and with their demand on shinobi to consider themselves rather as members of their village and their clan than individuals, including the duty to father or mother children to pass on the family's techniques, the pressure on homosexuals to conceal their sexual orientation is high. Nonetheless there is no reason to assume that among ninjas the percentage of homosexuals is lower than among the general population.

Naruto considered buying the item. He kept it in his hands while he further explored the book section. Mostly it contained erotic romances like Icha-Icha, only for gay men, but there was also some serious literature. There were also advice books: Some on coming out and getting along with one's more or less homophobic family, friends and colleagues, and books on gay sex. Naruto had a look into some of the latter: Now these contained truly pornographic images, but also anatomical drawings and advice about how to have anal sex. Naruto found it weird and fascinating at the same time. 

He returned the book into the shelf and turned to the DVD rental section. The first items that met his eye were recordings of the European Song Contest (whatever that was), but on a closer look he discovered the same spectrum from soft porn to high drama as in the book section. He found a movie about a couple who refused to give up their love and in consequence died for it – finally something Naruto could relate to. He did not own a DVD-player, but he could borrow one from the restaurant, so he decided to rent the movie. 

A voice made him startle and look up: 

“Naruto? What are you doing here?” 

It was the guy from Earth Country. 

“I am allowed here, aren't I?” Naruto replied. 

“Well, yes, sure you are. Can I be of any help to you?”

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then he remembered his original purpose. He kept the magazine and the DVD and went to the entrance area where the man was sitting on the counter.

“I wanted to ask you what you are thinking that you sell bookmark calendars of naked men to twelve-year-old boys.”

“Anyone is allowed to come here and buy stuff, even twelve-year-old boys, just as well as you are.”

“Even if it's calendars with naked men?”

“Sure, if this is what they're interested in. It's rather rare however: In most cases they just want to show off to their friends, entering in order to seem cool and daring. It's just like buying condoms at that age: Not for sex, but because they find them strange and try to prove their courage. Normally they fill them with water to test their capacity. If it helps demystify them I am glad.”

“You sell condoms to twelve-year-old boys?”

“If they want to buy them, sure. As I said, they use them as high quality balloons, not for sex. Though if they use them for sex it's still better than sex without condoms.”

Naruto stood in shock. 

“Now do you need anything else? Can I help you?”

Naruto was not sure. He had confronted the man on selling that calendar to Juugo and it had not worked out, so he should probably leave. Still was not ready to give in that easily: He could hold the man accountable for turning Sasuke gay.

“Yes, you can help me”, he said. “I want you to leave Sasuke alone. He's not gay, you know.”

The man's surprise was written in his face. “What makes you think he isn't?”

“He's my friend. I don't want any of you to lay hands on him.”

“He might enjoy it. Most people enjoy having sex.”

“Sasuke doesn't.”

Again the man looked surprised, and also doubtful, though Naruto was not sure what he was doubtful of.

“How do you know? Have you ever tried? Maybe you just need to improve your technique.”

It took Naruto some seconds to figure out what the man's words implied. 

“Sasuke has never tried sex. He just doesn't like it.”

“How old is he? Nineteen? Twenty?” 

“Seventeen”, Naruto answered.

“He looks older. And you?”

“I'll be seventeen in a few months.”

“It's okay to be a virgin at seventeen. Particularly if you are gay and need some time to figure it out.”

This left Naruto thinking. “People need to figure out that they are gay?”

“Most people do. It's easier here as homosexuality is better accepted here, still being straight is everyone's default assumption. My own partner only realized it when he met me.”

“So you turned him gay”, Naruto said.

“No, I made him realize he's gay. That's not the same. He remembered then that I was actually not the first man he ever had a crush on. It's not possible to turn a person straight or gay. Well, what I wanted to say, even if Sasuke's still a virgin it does not mean he wants to remain one for the rest of his life.”

Naruto thought about it. “No, he doesn't. He's in love with a girl in Konoha.”

“Is he? He never speaks about her.”

“He's not a talkative guy. Still he's in love with her and will marry her when we return.”

“When Danzou's no longer Hokage and you have replaced him, you mean.”

“Yes.”

Naruto knew that Sasuke had told the man from Earth Country and his partner of their plan.

“It may take a while. Are you sure he's going to wait for so long?”

“Sure he is. He's a faithful guy.” He did not have to tell him that three years ago Sasuke had deserted Sakura and him to gain power from Orochimaru. Besides, Sasuke had not had sex with Orochimaru, had he? 

“He won't even talk to any other girl”, he said. (Well, he talked to Karin, but he wasn't interested in her, was he?) “This is how faithful he is to our friend in Konoha.”

Again the man looked doubtful, and this time Naruto understood that what the man was doubting was his, Naruto's intelligence.

“So she was both your friend?” the man said cautiously, making Naruto nervous.

“Yes. Our third team mate when we were still in Konoha.”

“I see”, the man said, and then he changed subject again.

“You know what I was wondering: Why do you dance with Sasuke? Would it not be more attractive to you to dance with a girl?” 

“Sasuke needs me to dance with him”, Naruto answered. “It's normal to help your friend when he is in need, isn't it?”

“No, actually not. Not when he's in need of a dance partner. What are you going to do if he decides that he's in need of some sex? Just in case he doesn't want to wait until Danzou is out of office.”

It took Naruto some time to understand him. “He won't have to wait that long”, he said. “We are going to turn Danzou out of office ourselves.”

The man did not react for some minutes, having to digest the announcement. “Just be careful, will you?” he said. “I'd really love to see him go, but you're just seventeen, and he's still the Hokage of Konoha. Remember that he's old: even if no one stands up against him he's bound to die soon.”

We don't have much time, Naruto thought to himself. If he dies before we are able to get at him, he'll never pay for his crimes.

“Anyway, why is it important to you that Sasuke is not gay?” the man returned to their original subject.

“He's my friend”, Naruto repeated. 

“So you should wish him happiness, even if this includes having sex with a man.”

Naruto still had difficulties imagining that Sasuke might enjoy it. 

“I don't want to lose him”, he said. “We've been separated for years. I want him to stay with me.”

“You'd also lose him if he marries a woman.”

“Not in the same way. There are things he can't do with a woman. He could still do them with me.”

“Having gay sex, for example”, the man suggested.

Naruto pretended not to have heard him. “And also, it would not be any woman but our former teammate. We'd still be a team.”

“You mean, they might let you join them sometimes?” 

This time Naruto was faster figuring out what the man was suggesting. 

“You're disgusting”, he said. 

The man shrugged and smiled.

“So what are your plans for yourself? Are you going to look after their children so that they can have sex without being interrupted?”

“Maybe.”

Again the man looked at him as if he was doubting his intelligence.

“You're not going to find a woman for yourself? I mean, most people want to have sex at some point of their life.”

“I don't.”

The man looked as if he didn't believe his ears.

“Seeing that my friends are happy with each other will make me happy. I don't need a woman for myself.”

“So whom do you expect to share? Sasuke or the girl?” 

“You're still disgusting”, Naruto said. “I'll be happy for their sake. Knowing that they're happy with each other will be my happiness. You don't understand this. You don't know about true love here. For you, having sex is all to love. In Konoha we still know that love means to fight for each other and be ready to sacrifice yourself.”

“Of course I don't know about love”, the man said, sounding seriously annoyed now. “That's why I have been married to my partner for three years, and been together with him before this for another three years.”

Naruto was silent, and the man calmed down. 

“If you want your friends to be happy, then why do you insist that they marry even though Sasuke's gay?” he asked. “Neither he nor the girl will profit from it in the long run.”

“He's not gay”, Naruto said. 

“He is. Go and ask himself and stop accusing other people of turning him gay.”

Naruto did not answer. He knew he had gone too far.

“And go and find yourself a girl, or offer Sasuke to become his lover. It would solve a lot of your problems.”

The man had susgested this a few times during their conversation but only now that he did it explicitely Naruto actually considered it, though only for some moments.

“No way”, he said.

The man shrugged. “It's your choice. Just let Sasuke choose for himself too.”

There was nothing left to say. The man got down from the counter, and Naruto showed him the two items he had found in the store, the magazine and the DVD. 

“How much are they?” he asked.

The man looked surprised. “You're certain you want this?”

“Sasuke will like it. He keeps track of what is going on in Konoha.”

“Well, then.” He took Naruto's money and gave him the change. “See you tonight for dancing, hopefully.”

“Sure!” Naruto's mood lightened. He was looking forward to dancing.


	46. Chapter Forty-Three: A new edition

It was time to meet Karin. Naruto still felt confused about what he had heard, and he hoped that he could shake off the images that had turned up in his mind: He did not intend to have sex with Sasuke, neither as active nor as passive partner. He knew that gay men enjoyed it, he had also read the advice he had found in the book in the store, still he could not imagine it. Well, he wasn't gay, was he, so it was only natural that he couldn't.

It was equally difficult to imagine Sasuke having sex. He did not like to be close to anyone, did he? 

There was another issue that worried him. When on Sunday he had asked Karin to go shopping with him, babbling something about summer and wanting to blend in she had looked at him sceptically and asked him why he needed her advice for this. Naruto had decided to tell her the truth: 

“It's because of Sasuke. Just look at him, sitting opposite Juugo's new mothers. He's not interested in them, they are not interested in him, and still, look at how he's sitting. The top two buttons of his shirt are open, his arms are resting on the bench's back, his foot lying on the other knee.”

Karin and he had turned to look at Sasuke, but just then both of his feet were on the floor, he was sitting upright and his hands were busy preparing a sandwich. 

“Just wait until we return! Then he'll get back to his previous position and turn his head left and right so that we can admire him in half profile. In our dance class it's worse, but he does it even when we are on our own: Sitting on my bed, his legs wide open to look cool, leaning back, and then he will mess with his hair: It does not look better from being messed with all the time, it's just that he knows that he looks good with his hands in his hair. He's looking at me, and it's as if I could hear his voice: Am I not the best-looking guy in this room?”

“Well, he's pretty, isn't he?”

“Sure he is. Still it's annoying. I'm no longer ready to let his claim stand uncontested.”

Karin had looked rather sceptical. “I don't think you'll be able to beat Sasuke.” 

“Thanks”, Naruto had replied.

“I can still go shopping with you and give you some advice. You are good-looking in your own way, and also, girls don't just fall for the best-looking guy. Are you competing for someone specific?”

“No. The only girl he cares about is back in Konoha. We are just competing.” 

Karin had shrugged. “Well, then. I'll do my best to help you.”

Thinking back of this conversation now Naruto wondered whether Sasuke's strange behaviour was not indeed a sign that he was gay. As a child Sasuke had not been particularly vain, knowing that he looked good but loathing the attention he got from the girls around him. Since their arrival in Music Town he had grown more and more concerned with his appearance until it had taken today's ridiculous forms. It was a bit what one would expect of a gay man, coming to think of it, but Naruto had never imagined that Sasuke might be gay. He looked good, to be sure, but he was also strong, and he made sure to keep a safe distance from everyone. The latter had changed recently, as Naruto was only too well aware of. He wished that Sasuke would return to his previous behaviour and stopped smiling at everyone.

He also had to take care for himself. He should not appear too concerned with his appearance, lest people would mistake him for gay. He actually considered cancelling his shopping appointment with Karin. 

They had agreed to meet in the entrance area of the municipal library. Naruto had often seen it from outside, a huge building with pillars and an inscription in golden letters in a language Naruto didn't know, but he had never been inside. Now he looked up and saw galleries running around the central hall, and a glass dome on top, just above his head. 

Karin, when she arrived with a pile of books she had to return, seemed completely unimpressed by the architecture. She was impressed by the institution, however, and she told Naruto about it: “Isn't it amazing? A whole building full of books, free for everyone to borrow, read, and return. I've never seen anything like it.”

There had been a small library in Konoha, but as Naruto did not read much he had never been inside. He could not emphasize with Karin's fascination, but had to resign himself to registering that people in Music Town seemed to highly value books. 

They headed for the biographer's place and were invited to sit in the living-room and have tea, which was fine. What was not so fine was that the biographer tried to interview Naruto on Jiraiya's love affairs, while Naruto tried to tell her about Jiraiya's life as a ninja and his dreams of peace. Karin tried to act as mediator.

“Jiraiya saw that hatred was spreading in the ninja world”, Naruto said. “He hoped that people would learn to understand each other through his books, and that true peace would become possible.”

“Sure, we all long for peace”, the woman answered. “But, tell me, do you know about any woman who meant more to Jiraiya than all his countless love affairs?” 

Naruto shook his head as he did not want to tell her about Tsunade.

They parted after half an hour, and Naruto felt more worn out than after one of his major fights, more worn out even than after working twelve hours in a row at the restaurant. He had not even had the courage to tell the woman that he did not want her to write Jiraiya's official biography, nor the necessary clarity of mind. There had been moments during their conversation when he had had difficulties to restrain the kyuubi from lashing out at her: She was sullying Jiraiya's memory by making him appear interested in nothing but sex. 

Karin sensed that he needed some rest and invited him to one of the street cafes.

“This was truly a weird woman”, she said. “I thought she wanted to hear your perspective on Jiraiya, but instead she just tried to make you confirm her idea of Jiraiya as a womanizer.”

Naruto felt relieved, and while he drank his coke he told Karin what he should have told the biographer: How Jiraiya had trained him for three years, how they had connected over their pain over Sasuke respectively Orochimaru, how Jiraiya had talked to him about peace and his hope that his books would lead to more understanding. 

“I promised to take up the baton and to complete what he could not accomplish. And now I am sitting in Music Town, wasting my time learning to dance. I'm doing Sasuke a favour, which is fine, and keep him distracted from his revenge, but he's not everything. I should be saving Konoha and the whole world.”

“Don't worry”, Karin said. “Take your time. You need a plan to take down Danzou, and you need a good plan to save the world. If you rush it, you'll only mess up. Let's go and tell the publishing house that you want a biography of Jiraiya as he really was, with Icha-Icha only as a tiny part of his personality.”

He nodded, and after Karin had paid they left the cafe.

When they were sitting in the chief editor's office Karin did most of the talking. 

“Fans don't want another volume of Icha-Icha”, she said. “Well, they'd like one, but they understand that this is no longer possible. They don't want a substitute, however, and least of all a substitute disguised as a biography of Jiraiya. If anything, they want the real biography of the real Jiraiya.”

“Sex sells”, the editor replied.

“Sure, but not if it feels fake. It would be just some made-up love stories and romances. Jiraiya's heart was always in Konoha.”

Not only with the village, but also with Tsunade, Naruto thought. 

“Jiraiya was one of the Sannin”, he said. “If you really want a biography of him you have to talk to the last surviving Sannin. She could tell you about Jiraiya as a child or a young man. She has known him for decades, while I have only known him for a few years.”

“The Fifth Hokage? You may know that she's still suffering from the after effects of her fight against that Pain, and that she's also under house arrest, not allowed to talk to anyone but a few select people who care for her and do her shopping. We cannot simply send someone to Konoha to interview her on Jiraiya. Not with Danzou in office.”

“Then it's impossible to write a meaningful biography of Jiraiya while Danzou is in power.”

“We can still have a meaningless one, and a meaningful one when Danzou's no longer Hokage. It's important to keep the fans' interest in Jiraiya alive as long as possible. Fans won't mind if it's not Jiraiya's whole personality, or if it's not one hundred percent accurate. They will mind however when there's no new stuff to read. We have to keep them from turning to another author, and we have to make money. They are not so much interested in reality anyway, or even real life politics, but they will always appreciate a good story.”

Naruto did not know what to answer. He was in shock.

Karin was also not amused. “That's a sweeping generalization of the fans of Jiraiya you are making”, she said, “and actually quite offensive. Not all of us are fourteen-year-old girls who are still excited about reading their first explicit sex scene, thinking they are doing something dirty and forbidden. We are grown-up women and also some men, with highly demanding jobs, intelligent and taking an interest in matters of the world as anyone else. We just happen to occasionally like to take some time off from the real world to enjoy a good love story with a happy ending.”

The editor looked impressed.

“We like to think that our favourite author was more than some kind of Don Juan, consuming women as if he was picking flowers and only interested in sex. We like to think that he also took an interest in politics and was a wise, thoughtful man.”

Naruto was really glad that he had taken her with him: He could not have spoken like this, mainly because he was not a fan of Icha-Icha but found the whole series rather boring. He took the Gutsy Ninja out of his pocket. 

“As it's not possible yet to write a meaningful biography of Jiraiya, and as I won't give my consent to a meaningless one, you may consider a new edition of this book. I've heard it's out of print. It may keep the fans interested.”

The editor took it and had a look at it. 

“Jiraiya's first novel”, he said. “I haven't thought about it for a long time. I'm rather sceptical however. Jiraiya's readers expect erotic romances, not adventure stories.”

“But it's a love story too”, Karin said.

“Well, yes, I remember the love scene in the end of the book, making it almost unsellable. It was definitely not what twelve-year-old boys should read, while the adventure story itself was too childish for grown-ups. And then there was all the talk about peace and forgiveness, turning up at the least appropriate moments, slowing down the story when it would have needed some pacing up.”

Naruto felt hurt. For him the conversations on peace and forgiveness had been the best parts of the book.

“I still remember how my predecessor discussed it with Jiraiya. He did not really like it, but he enjoyed the love scene in the end and thought that it showed Jiraiya's true talent. He wanted to keep him as an author and offered him two options: Either rewrite the book and focus on the romance and cut down the parts on peace and forgiveness, or get the Gutsy Ninja published as it was and write a new book that was only about romance. Jiraiya chose the second option, and a few thousand copies of the Gutsy Ninja were printed and about half of them were sold. He then wrote the first volume of Icha-Icha, and sales numbers soon climed to the five digits and six digits.”

“Jiraiya loved the book”, Naruto said. “I love it too.”

“All fans will love it”, Karin said.

The editor considered their words. “Maybe it's indeed a good time to release a new edition. We still have the old printing plates somewhere, so it would be quick and cheap. Also, just now Jiraiya has a large fanbase of hardcore fans who will buy everything written by him.”

He looked at Naruto, who was waiting anxiously for the final decision.

“You may write an afterword, or an introduction. Include some biographical notes on Jiraiya. Be a bit sentimental about your personal loss, and don't forget to mention that you are named after the Gutsy Ninja – people love cheesy details.”

Naruto felt hurt again. He did not want to share his feelings for Jiraiya with the fanbase of Icha-Icha.

“Some ten thousand copies”, the editor said. “If they sell there'll be more.”


	47. Chapter Forty-Four: Clothes Shopping

“Now you really have a reason to look for new clothes”, Karin said when they left the editor's office after discussing the details of the new edition of the Gutsy Ninja. “You need to look your best when they take a photo of you for the back cover.”

Naruto still hoped that the photo would not appear on the back cover but on one of the inner pages, along with the introduction he was expected to write. The editor had suggested that a photo might help raise the sales numbers, as Jiraiya's fanbase was mainly female, but as much as Naruto wanted people to buy and read the Gutsy Ninja, he was not too eager to give a face to the story's protagonist, most of all when he thought of the love scene at the end of the book. For the first time he wished that he was not named after the Gutsy Ninja.

Karin however seemed delighted. “You'll win the hearts of the audience, you'll see. Jiraiya would have been proud of you. Just let us get some clothes for you, so that you will win the hearts of the girls in your dance class too.”

Probably not, Naruto thought. They are all middle-aged lesbians and as little interested in me as I am interested in them. 

“Just one favour”, he said as they walked on. “Don't choose me any clothes that make me look gay.”

Karin was surprised. “You don't look gay”, she said. “Nobody could wish to look more manly than you do. Getting some new clothes, and perhaps a new hair style won't change that. How did you get such an idea?”

Naruto shrugged. He did not want to tell. He was still wondering whether the fact that Sasuke had come to enjoy buying clothes was not a sign that he was gay. 

Now, however, he was glad that he normally accompanied Sasuke on his shopping sprees, so that he did not depend completely on Karin. When she suggested to get some new pants first he told her of a shop he had visited repeatedly with Sasuke (not telling her of the latter, however), where he knew that the choice was great and the shop assistant competent and male (an important point for Sasuke.) 

The shop assistant was quite astonished on seeing Naruto without his friend: “You advised him, didn't you? So why not bring him to advise you?”

Naruto remembered that his comments had never been particularly helpful or welcome: Watching Sasuke look at himself in the mirror in various clothes had been just too weird, and making funny remarks had been his only way to deal with the situation.

“He has no taste”, he said when he realized that an answer was expected of him.

The shop assistant was really competent. One look at Naruto was sufficient to find him a pair of pants that almost fitted, and with the second and third attempt he got pants that fitted perfectly. It was only then that Karin stepped in, giving her opinion on colour and fabric and style, and on the question whether a loose or a tight fit would be preferable.

“You can pull it off”, she said when she saw that he felt embarrassed about the tight black pants that were her and the shop assistant's first choice. 

Naruto, knowing that Sasuke normally went for the loose fit, felt flattered that he should have the figure for the tight ones when Sasuke didn't and agreed to buy the black pants. Secretly, however, he had chosen a pair of extremely loose ones, in a faded orange with a lot of pockets. He had seen some kids in that style, and they had seemed very cool to him. He'd buy them when he was on his own.

Buying shirts in one of the big department stores turned out to be even more fun, mostly because they all fitted and he just had to decide which ones he liked best. Short sleeves, long sleeves, buttons, no buttons, T-shirts with a few buttons right below the collar. Plain shirts, dress shirts, fancy shirts, and black shirts with symbols Naruto did not understand. (He considered ordering one with his own symbol, the puddle.) Colour, fabric, cut: There seemed to be an unlimited choice, and Naruto kept trying on shirt after shirt while Karin and the shop assistant brought new supplies. He did not remember that Sasuke had ever tried on so many shirts, probably because he had always known beforehand what he wanted and did not have to make up his mind about what would suit him. (Anything suited Sasuke, Naruto thought with envy.) 

Naruto still had to make up his mind, and he looked at himself in the mirror, considering what he wanted to look like and listening to Karin's and the shop assistant's compliments. He enjoyed himself immensely. 

He had always bought clothes by himself, and before he was old enough for this he had to wear used clothes received from some charity organization. He still remembered how he had first been given some money to buy some clothes and how he had bought his first fight suit, the one he had worn during his last year at the academy and his first year as a genin. He had been all happy and proud: Finally some money to spend by himself, to choose clothes that he really liked, and he had chosen the suit that had seemed most brilliant and colourful to him, a suit that was absolutely cool, a suit that made him happy when he just looked at it. 

But when the other kids had seen it they had made fun of it as they considered it childish, and he had been torn between hating the suit and loving it just to spite the other kids. He could not stop wearing it, however, as he did not have the money to buy something else.

Later on his journeys with Jiraiya he had bought the suit he was wearing now. Practicability had been his first concern: he did not consider himself handsome so that it did not matter what he wore, and he did not trust his own judgement to buy something that would be considered cool by other people too. Only that for some reason his new suit had turned out orange again.

Now he did not have to rely on his own judgement any more. There was Karin, there was the shop assistant, there were various other women who felt bored while they were waiting for their own partners to change. Giving advice to a handsome young man who looked good in almost anything he tried was more rewarding than choosing jackets that might conceal their husband's bellies. 

Trying shirt after shirt Naruto began to feel dizzy. Suddenly choosing new clothes was no longer about the clothes themselves but about his whole person. He was trying on a new personality: no longer just a ninja and a fighter without any life of his own, but a young man just as any other, and while he was not as beautiful as Sasuke he was still attractive to these women!

He'd see! Naruto thought while he turned in front of the mirror admiring himself. He'll stop sitting on my bed trying to make me admire his good looks.

Only rarely the women advised against a shirt, and if they did it was mostly because Naruto had chosen a colour that would have suited Sasuke. 

“Blue's too cold for you”, they'd say. “Choose something warmer, and sunnier!”

So when he finally chose three shirts he'd actually buy they were all more or less orange: A rather conventional one of some firm fabric with short sleeves and a lot of pockets in a rather dirty, not very brillant orange, a tight sleeveless one which was mainly black but had some orange patterns, and then a wide shirt of fine cotton with long wide sleeves in a very light orange. The women had warned him against it, saying it did not suit his personality; only the shop assistant, glad that finally someone had taken an interest in it, had spoken in favour of it. Naruto however had fallen in love with the shirt, just as he had with his first fight suit: it was the kind of shirt Sasuke would wear when he wanted to look beautiful, just in a different colour. Slowly he turned in front of the mirror, moving his arms in a very soft and gentle way. He knew why the women said that the shirt did not suit his personality: For such a shirt you had to move as graciously as Sasuke did. 

He'd learn it, Naruto thought. He'd learn to move in a way that made him look good in that shirt. 

“You'll need a jacket and a new haircut too”, Karin said when they finally left the department store, but there was no time left.

There was not even any time left to go home, and Naruto went directly to the dance class. The bathroom held enough space to change, so he did, wanting to show off his purchases. It took him some time to decide which of the three shirts he would wear, but in the end he decided for the most conventional shirt, the one with the many pockets.

The first dancers had already arrived: Three women were sitting in a corner, chatting, and one man was standing at the bar, talking to the dance teacher. Naruto joined them; they were gossiping about last Saturday's gay party: Who had made a fool of himself, talking utter nonsense and telling a lot of secrets when he got drunk, who had simply passed out, and who had ended up having sex with some stranger in public, not remembering anything the next day. Naruto listened, half in shock and half relieved that such a behaviour was not considered praiseworthy.

He soon forgot about his new clothes. When another man arrived, however, he spotted them immediately: 

“Oh, Naruto, you have got some new clothes!” 

The man who had first arrived and the dance teacher leant back to have a look at them.

“Indeed, new clothes”, the dance teacher said. “Any special reason?” 

“It's summer”, Naruto answered.

“True. Glad you finally noticed.”

Naruto felt uncomfortable but luckily the men soon returned to their previous subject. 

The next man was even more direct: “You've new clothes”, he said. “So you've finally decided what you want to be.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, fearing that the man would tell him that he looked gay.

“I've always wondered whether you are a man or some giant teddy bear”, the man said.

“Sure I am a man”, Naruto replied, rather annoyed.

“Glad you've come to this conclusion by yourself”, the man said, slapping Naruto's shoulders. He did not pursue the subject, however, but began to discuss last Saturday's football matches. Naruto joined: he always had something to contribute when the conversation turned to football. 

Soon he forgot about his new clothes, and when one of the women went to buy some drinks and complimented him too he was able to thank her. Still he blushed.

“Don't be embarrassed”, one of the other men said. “You look great.”

They turned again to football, but this time Naruto did not join. He still felt uncomfortable – obviously the men were making fun of him, weren't they? Did they still accept him? He joined the conversation again, and the men behaved as always. 

When the guy from Earth Country arrived with his partner his comments were worse than everybody else's: “Looks good!” he said. “Now who are you dressing up for? Sasuke or that girl in Konoha?”

“Neither”, Naruto answered. “It's just that I no longer want him to be the only one who's being looked at.”

Everyone stopped talking so that they could hear the women on the other side of the room.

“So step back!” the guy from Earth Country said. 

Naruto obeyed.

“Turn around!” 

Naruto obeyed again. Everyone was looking. Naruto was first embarrassed, then annoyed, then he decided to show them all and turned another time, his hands first on his hips, then waving kisses as he turned a third time.

“I look great, don't I?”

“Sure you do”, the man from Earth Country said. “Now come back!”

Naruto returned to the bar. 

“Nobody is looking at Sasuke all the time”, he said. “Only you do.”

Naruto felt embarrassed. Luckily the men soon returned to discussing football, which was, all in all, more interesting than Naruto's new clothes.

Anyway, dancing started soon. Sasuke still had not arrived. Naruto was half glad, half annoyed. Normally being with Sasuke gave him a sense of security among the gay men, but today he was glad that Sasuke had not witnessed how they had made fun of him. On the other hand he would have liked Sasuke to hear the compliments he got for his new clothes. 

Soon there was only one man left at the bar with Naruto. Sasuke still had not arrived.

“Seems our partners are late”, the man said. “Do you want to dance with me while we're waiting?” 

“Sure, why not?” Naruto answered. 

“You lead, don't you?” the man continued, laying his left hand on Naruto's shoulder to indicate that he was ready to follow. 

It was the first time that Naruto danced with a man who was not Sasuke. It was a weird experience, and not that bad, actually. Naruto's partner was one of the best dancers of the group. He reacted to the slightest of Naruto's signs, he moved elegantly and took space with his arms, turning his hands in weird ways. His hips and shoulders were all flexible and always moving, and Naruto moved his own hips and shoulders in response.

“You've just started to dance, haven't you?” the man said when they were in closed position again.

“A few weeks ago”, Naruto said.

“You're doing it really well.”

Naruto felt proud and weird at the same time. The compliment was a bit condescending; on the other hand the man was so much better than him that he had a right to be condescending. Still he took Naruto seriously as a partner, allowing him to lead and following willingly, while with Sasuke there was a misunderstanding at least once per dance, and then a discussion about whose fault it had been. 

It was fun to dance with him, Naruto thought, and returned his partner's smile. It was nice being taken seriously as a man, and when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror he understood why the other men had made fun of him: He did not look special in his new attire, he looked just like any other guy, while before he had dressed like a child, or, as one of the men had put it, like a giant teddy bear. They'd be ready to accept him as a man, just as the women who had advised him. He might be not as good-looking as Sasuke, but he had been asked to dance by another man. Again he returned his partner's smile and responded to the teasing movements prescribed by the dance.

Hinata had been foolish in her affection, he realized. She had admired him, but not as a man, just as a role model for not giving up. She had not behaved like a grown-up woman either, not as women behaved here. Kakashi had not seen him as a man either, not even after he had defeated Pain. Here they were ready to accept him as a man, on the condition that he behaved as a man. He smiled at his partner, who was just turning under his arm, and led him into a new figure. 

In the door he saw Sasuke, looking at him. Naruto smiled, and then, just for a second, Sasuke's look got unfocussed in the way Naruto only knew too well from the men he had used his Sexy no Jutsu on. 

He stopped dancing when his partner had finished the figure:

“Sasuke has arrived.”


	48. Chapter Fourty-Five: Following

Sasuke's enchantment only lasted for a second, then it turned into anger. 

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Dancing”, Naruto answered.

“With someone else!”

“You were late!”

“I am ten minutes late and you start dancing with another man.”

“It's just dancing. His partner's late too, so we decided not to waste our time waiting.”

“You've been wasting my time. I've been waiting for you at home.”

“I was shopping, and suddenly it was too late to return home before dancing.”

“Shopping? I thought you were going to be interviewed by that woman who's going to write Jiraiya's biography.”

“I did, and then we went to the editors to tell them that we did not want her to write the biography and persuaded him to release a new edition of the Gutsy Ninja instead.”

“Oh, you did.”

Sasuke was genuinely glad for Naruto, even though he was still annoyed.

“It was mainly Karin”, Naruto continued. “She's a fan of Icha-Icha, and I am not. She convinced him that the fans of Icha-Icha would long to learn that Jiraiya did not only write erotic romances but was also interested in serious political questions, as how to create peace. Well, and then we went shopping.”

“You went shopping with Karin.”

“Yes.”

“And you bought with her the clothes you are wearing now.”

“Yes. I wanted her to advise me.”

Naruto could see how Sasuke had to get a grip on himself.

“Why did you not ask me?” 

He had a point, Naruto had to admit. Sasuke would have been the natural choice. After all, Naruto had been shopping with him, too.

“You would not have advised me well”, he said. “You would have made sure that you remained the most beautiful guy around.”

Sasuke was speechless, giving Naruto some time to think and to realize that his words had been utterly foolish. If Sasuke found him attractive, as the second of unfocusedness in his eyes had suggested, it did not make sense that he would give him bad advice on purpose. (Only that in some matters, for example his hair, Naruto did not trust Sasuke's taste.)

“You think I'm beautiful?” Sasuke asked cautiously after some time. 

“I don't think so, I see it”, Naruto answered. 

There was another silence of a few seconds.

“That shirt suits you”, Sasuke said, and then, thinking that he should not compliment the shirt but Naruto, he added: “You look good in that shirt.”

It was still not enough, he thought, and so he said: “You look good without it, too.”

Naruto wondered what to make of the compliment. “Let's dance”, he finally said. 

It was some weird dancing that evening. Together with the other couples aiming at the beginners' class of the tournament they learnt the first steps of Paso Doble, which turned out to be mainly standing around and stomping. Naruto enjoyed looking fierce and proud like a torero: it was really easier in his new shirt than in his fight suit. Sometimes he caught again a glimpse of that confusion in Sasuke's eyes, and then Sasuke would turn away. 

Naruto felt manlier with his new clothes, and while he was not able to evoke whole seconds of confusion from the other men he still saw the recognition in their faces, and sometimes an irritation that lasted for a fraction of a second. 

“Well, at least you've got the expression right”, the dance teacher said when Naruto had messed up again with the steps. His concentration was not the best that evening.

It got better when they danced Jive, where he could take space, let his arms swing and lift his legs. He smiled at everyone, and the assistance dance teacher told him that lifting his legs was fine but that he should not trample.

“Do it gently! When you hear yourself you're doing it wrong!” 

Naruto did his best to follow the advice, but as he continued to look around and smile he kept making mistakes. Jive had been his favourite dance from the moment he had learnt it, but now it had got an additional note: He'd be attractive not as a crazy kid but as a grown-up man. He was very well aware of the patch of naked skin where he had opened the two top buttons of his shirt, and of his shoulders that had grown considerably during recent years.

It was a strange feeling, and it was a weird thought that he should be able to evoke all these looks of admiration and sometimes even of confusion (making others mess up their steps) with his own male body, and even fully clothed. He wondered whether he could do the same thing to straight women: Probably, judging from the reaction of the women who had advised him with buying clothes.

He thought of Sakura: But she had always been in love with Sasuke, and dressing up and seducing her just seemed wrong. He'd never be her type, even if he dressed up. He still wore orange, he still was wild and extrovert. She'd always think him an annoying kid. The men here were ready to recognize him as a man, even though they thought him a bit foolish. 

When the music switched to rumba he retained his style: Taking a lot of space, moving his hands in the sophisticated way he had observed from the guy he had danced with in the beginning of the evening. It was at this point that the dance teacher intervened.

“Have you ever considered changing roles?” he asked.

“Not really”, Sasuke answered. “He likes to lead and I don't mind to follow, so it's always been clear.”

“You should try, particularly if you dance at tournaments. I guess you'll look better if Naruto follows.”

“I don't look like a girl just because I have new clothes, do I?”, Naruto protested. 

Both the teacher and Sasuke stared at Naruto, who realized he had made a fool of himself again. Still he did not want to be a girl.

“Try!” the dance teacher said. 

They did, starting with the alemana. It took Naruto some time to master the steps, mostly because he wasn't really interested in mastering them. 

“Don't look like you were mortally insulted – smile at people, just as you did before!” the dance teacher told him.

Naruto did so, making a show of it and overdoing on purpose, just as he had when he had presented his clothes.

“Yes, that's great. It's really much better if you follow.”

Naruto was still in shock.

“But why? I don't look like a girl, do I? Sasuke's much prettier than I am.”

Sasuke felt really annoyed now.

The dance teacher laid his arm around Naruto's shoulder and led him to the mirror. “Nobody will think you are a girl, no matter what you wear.”

Naruto looked at his reflection: He was, definitely, a young man. “So why do I have to follow?”

“At the moment you are better at letting go than Sasuke. He's still too controlled. If you lead, everyone will notice the difference immediately, if you follow, you can partly cover it up.”

“Why can't he simply learn to let go?” 

“He'll have to. Just at the moment it's better if you follow.”

Naruto was still not content. 

“At least with Latin”, the dance teacher continued. “Maybe you can lead with ballroom.”

Naruto realized that he could not refuse for much longer. 

“That's a compromise, isn't it? You lead with ballroom, Sasuke with Latin.” 

Naruto did not answer. 

“Really, how are you able to be friends if you are not able to compromise?” 

“We are friends because of the bond that unites us”, Naruto answered. “Nothing will break it.”

The dance teacher looked irritated, Sasuke embarrassed.

“Well, then it won't matter if you follow. You want to win that tournament, don't you?”

“We do.”

“Then teach each other the figures you've already learnt!” 

He left them – they were not the only couple. 

Sasuke began to show Naruto the most important figures. He tried to be nice: Naruto still looked as if he had lost an important fight. 

“You don't look feminine in any way”, he said. “Following does not turn you into a woman.”

It had turned Sasuke gay, however, Naruto thought. He did not want the same thing happen to him.

It took them some time to get accustomed to their new roles. 

“It's the more difficult part”, Naruto said when he realized that now he had to do all the figures while before he only had to dance the basic steps. “It's because I am better than you that I have to do the complicated figures.” 

Sasuke meanwhile had realized that leading held its own challenges: Thinking ahead, making decisions, giving the correct signal in time. He enjoyed it, actually, but he did not tell Naruto. He enjoyed showing off Naruto, who was getting more and more creative with his arms and hands, and who looked around and smiled at everyone, a bit childish still, but more and more at ease. He enjoyed giving him space to dance, he enjoyed being a stable point during Naruto's figures and extravagant movements, he enjoyed being the one from whom Naruto turned to others and to whom he would return again. 

Slowly Naruto came to enjoy it too: Following held its own possibilities, even though he could not decide which figure he wanted to dance. He could, of course, tell Sasuke of his wishes, and normally Sasuke would comply. It was okay, all in all, Sasuke watching him while he turned under his arm, smiling in admiration, and when he turned outward he caught the looks of the other men too. 

Being in the center of attention, in a positive way, not for some extraordinary feat like his victory over Pain, but simply for being himself, outgoing, handsome, funny – he had never experienced anything like this. 

If the other men had not been teasing him as soon as they had assembled around the bar when the break began. “So you've been following today”, they said. “Seems you're coming into your own.” 

“No, that's not my own”, Naruto replied. “I'm a leader by nature. I will become Hokage of Konoha! Dancing is just for fun.” 

He knew that he could talk freely about their plans, as no one took them seriously anyway. 

“Seems that even a future Hokage sometimes has to relax and allow himself to be led”, one of the other men said.

“The present one could profit from it too”, another suggested.

“But who would volunteer to do it?” a third one asked. 

Sasuke was the only one who did not laugh. He knew how Orochimaru had occasionally made Kabuto fuck him so that he could relax and how it had not turned him into a better person. Both he and Naruto were glad when the break ended and ballroom dancing began. Naruto returned to leading, and he did his best to look confident and manly when he opened his arms for Sasuke. Sasuke kept blushing and avoided Naruto's eyes.

“If we were to fight now you'd never stand a chance”, Naruto said. “I'd just have to look at you, and you'd no longer be able to think.”

Sasuke broke up the dancing, looking confused and then annoyed, and then he stood upright and began to rearrange his hair, smiling and again looking breathtakingly beautiful.

I shouldn't have told him he's pretty, Naruto thought.

Sasuke let go of his hair. “You don't intend to fight me, do you?” 

“I don't. We are friends, aren't we? But I'm still the better fighter. I'm even better at dancing, and that was your idea.”

They did not learn much during the rest of the day because instead of silently making up for each other's mistakes as they usually did they stopped dancing as soon as something went wrong, and blamed each other for causing the interruption. 

When they went home Naruto was silent, pondering the events of the day. Slowly he admitted to himself what had been obvious for some time now: Sasuke would never marry Sakura, and his dream of them living together as Team Seven again, with him, Naruto, as some kind of uncle to Sasuke's and Sakura's kids, was childish, after all. Abandoning the dream suddenly opened new perspectives: Winning Sakura for himself (though he knew that this would not work), or finding some other girl (he tried to imagine it, but the idea still held little attraction to him.) 

He'd loose Sasuke to another man eventually, and this was the worst of it. Sooner or later it would happen. Hopefully rather later: It was him who had evoked this reaction from Sasuke, not any other man. (He was certain that he would have noticed.) He felt triumphant: Sasuke, who all the girls had a crush on, was attracted to him.

It was not only that, however. Sasuke liked him. He, who was so reserved and so reluctant to show any affection cared more for him than he would ever admit.


	49. Chapter Forty-Six: Tango Argentino

Somehow Sasuke had managed to lay his hands on the bag with Naruto's purchases. He had also managed to secure himself the place on the table, so that for Naruto only the bed remained.

Sasuke began to check the contents of the bag. The first item he found was the tight, black, sleeveless shirt. He tossed it at Naruto: “Try it on!”

Naruto felt weird: There Sasuke was again, sitting in an elevated position, his feet on the chair so that he would look cool, making him, Naruto, dress up so that he could judge him, while at the same time it was clear that Sasuke looked much better. But then, just while he was sitting half naked on his bed and looking for the label of the shirt to put it on in the correct way he saw again that look of confusion in Sasuke's eyes, and a hunger he had not expected. He was satisfied with himself again. He put on the shirt and moved his fingers and arms so that his muscles flexed and enjoyed how Sasuke could not look away. 

“Looks good!” Sasuke said, trying to get a grip on himself in order to appear as if he was nothing more than a friend giving advice to another friend. 

He had to force himself to turn from the sight of Naruto and get the next item out of the bag: The shirt Naruto had bought against the advice of all his female advisors. Sasuke unfolded it and held it up and did not know what to say, then he passed it to Naruto.

Naruto changed into it. “You don't think it makes me look girly?” he asked, moving very carefully and even giving in to a sudden impulse to mess with his hair. 

“Nothing will make you look girly” Sasuke answered, recognizing the gesture only too well. “You can wear the black shirt underneath. That would look cool.”

“You think that only you can pull off wearing such a shirt without anything underneath?” 

“My shirts are not semitransparent.”

It was not true, Naruto thought. When the sun shone against Sasuke's back you could see his silhouette.

“Wearing such a shirt without anything underneath is as good as wearing no shirt at all”, Sasuke continued.

“But I look good without a shirt, don't I?” Naruto said, remembering how Sasuke had looked at him while he had been changing. 

“You do”, Sasuke said, not wanting to lie. Then he got annoyed because he felt he was losing to Naruto. “Wear what you want! Or go naked! I don't care!” He felt confused and irritated: Why would Naruto try to look like him instead of looking like himself?

He turned his attention to the bag and took out Naruto's fight suit. “This is for winter”, he said.

Naruto felt oddly comforted. He enjoyed being complimented, on his new clothes, be it by strangers or the men of the dance class or by Sasuke, but it had itched him that people thought that with his fight suit he had looked like a teddy bear. He was glad that Sasuke thought it okay, just not for summer.

Sasuke had now found the remaining two items, the movie and the magazine. 

“Why did you buy this?” he asked, holding up the latter.

“I thought it might interest you. You like to know what's going on in the world, don't you?”

“I do. Thanks”, Sasuke answered, blushing. It was the first sign that Naruto acknowledged that he was gay, and he felt moved, and more relieved than he would have expected.

“What about the movie? Is it for me too?” 

Naruto hesitated. Actually he had chosen the movie for himself, but now admitting that he had rented a gay movie seemed embarrassing. Telling Sasuke that the movie was a gift too seemed an easy way out, but then he would not be able to watch it himself. Inwardly he cursed Sasuke: Who had given him the right to question him about his purchases?

“I thought we might see it together”, he said.

“Yes. Thanks”, Sasuke answered, now really moved. He wondered what Naruto was intending when he suggested that they watched a gay movie: It might just be a sign of friendship, a sign that he cared. It would fit Naruto. On the other hand anything might happen when they watched the movie together: Sasuke was definitely looking forward to it. 

Naruto watched him and saw how he suddenly looked all soft and vulnerable. He'd protect him, he thought, feeling all warm and tender. He longed to reach out for Sasuke, but he was too far away at the moment. 

“We can borrow the TV-set and the DVD-player from downstairs”, he said.

This evening it was too late for it, however, and also on the next days they did not find the time. Life was busy with work in the restaurant and dancing. Also they often volunteered when one of the gay men needed help, be it with digging out a pond for a garden or with carrying beams for someone who wanted to renovate the attic of his house, but they also helped buying groceries for a man who had broken his leg. Volunteering to support other gay men (as Sasuke thought of them) or the gay men (as Naruto would have put it) helped them get accepted as members of the community, but it also helped that Naruto tried to behave in a way that did not offend them. Sasuke is one of them, he thought, and I have to be polite, as being polite to them means being polite to him.

One day he'll leave me for one of these men, he thought, and it still hurt even though he did his best to accept it. Sasuke was still rather reserved, however, and if he showed any preferences it was for Naruto himself, so there was no danger of Sasuke leaving him any time soon. He did not have to watch him closely now and could turn his attention to the general conversation: They were just having lunch after helping with renovating the attic, and the owner of the attic had thanked them particularly and praised them   
for their efficiency. 

“We learnt this when we were still genin and doing D-rank missions”, Naruto explained. “Not carrying heavy beams of course, but quite a lot of the lighter stuff and doing some carpentry.”

He told them more of their early peaceful missions. The men listened and wondered. 

“Who'd have thought that the ninja villages make their kids do communal work and call it ninja training!”

“It's not just communal work”, Naruto said. “It's for private clients too.”

“You mean the ninja villages rent out their kids for unskilled labour?” 

“Not unskilled. We were good at it.”

There was some discussion: Some of the men disapproved and called it child's labour, others claimed that not doing any real work at all, not even in their parents' household as it was normal for children in Music Town, was not good for their self-esteem. “As long as it's not the kind of work that's detrimental to a child's mental and physical well-being, as long hours of repetitive work in a factory, or prostitution, or being child soldiers, it's probably okay if children do some work.”

They stopped, remembering that Sasuke and Naruto had been trained to be ninjas.

“What did you think of the work you had to do as kids?” they asked. 

“We hated it”, Sasuke answered honestly. “We longed to do some real fighting.”

“Weren't you afraid?” 

“Not really”; Naruto explained. “We were just proud and excited. Only when the fighting got real I was scared, but only for one moment, then I overcame my fear. Anyway, there was our teacher who'd protect us so that there was never any real danger.”

“I would have died if Haku had intended to kill me for real”, Sasuke said.

The men around them fell silent, becoming aware that what the boys had been through was real. 

“You get used to it”, Naruto said. “You don't think of the danger. If you think that you might die, you have lost.”

“Or you know that you will die, and do everything necessary to achieve your goal before you get killed”, Sasuke added. “Sometimes you're even lucky and survive.”

The men looked quite impressed.

They live in a different world, Naruto thought. A world without fighting where it's not necessary to risk your life.

“Are you glad you're here now?” one of the men asked.

“We are”, Sasuke answered, smiling. “We like this place and enjoy living here.”

Naruto was glad that Sasuke had spoken for both of them: His own answer would have been less clear as half of his heart was still in Konoha.

They were not only invited to occasions for helping other men but also to events that were meant to be fun. On one evening they attended a ballroom dancing party together with several other couples, a mainstream event at the community center, meaning that most people were straight, but gay people were welcome too. For Naruto it was a weird situation: Dancing with Sasuke he was glad to be in the company of other gay couples, and for the first time he thought of himself as one of them. 

By now they had become quite good at figuring out which dance to dance when the music changed, but suddenly there was some music that left them all confused. 

“It's Tango Argentino”, the husband of the guy from Earth Country told them. “It's got nothing to do with European Tango.”

The population of dancers changed almost completely. Only one couple of their own group knew how to dance Tango Argentino, meaning that the rest of them sat down to have some drinks and watch. Mostly they talked, but Sasuke watched in fascination as he had on the day of his arrival: It was an altogether different way of dancing, as it had neither a clear pattern nor a clear rhythm, and there were no athletic elements. Just two people standing in loose embrace, not upright but with round shoulders, their heads lowered as if they were busy with some intimate conversation, lost in a world of their own while the person who followed (mostly a woman) did some intricate steps. 

It seemed a very gentle and tender way of dancing, and Sasuke could not help but take Naruto's hand: “I want to learn this too.”

“With me as your partner?”

“Yes. If you want.”

It was no surprise any more; still Naruto did not know whether he was ready to dance with Sasuke in such an intimate way. “That's not a sport”, he said. “That's just standing around and moving in a weird way. We don't make fools of us like this. We're still ninjas. If you want me to embrace you just tell!”

Sasuke looked surprised, then he opened his arms. They held each other for a few seconds.

“You see, we don't need this”, Naruto said.

Sasuke was not content. He liked being embraced by Naruto but the hugs Naruto gave him, pressing Sasuke against himself with all his strength, were no longer a substitute for the tenderness he longed for. The music changed and another unknown dance followed, similar to Viennese Waltz in that it was in three quarter time, but softer and more playful. The two men of the group who had been dancing joined them.

“Interested?” they asked as they had noticed how Sasuke had been following them with his eyes.

“No”, Naruto answered firmly. “We don't need a pretext for embracing.”

“It's more than that”, the men explained. “It's also a complicated pattern of leading and following. You don't just give signs but you guide every single step of your partner. It takes a lot of trust and most women only dance with their own boy-friends.”

Naruto considered it: Moving Sasuke around by a soft pressure against his shoulder and then watching him do complicated fanciful steps, while Sasuke just had to let himself be guided. The idea held some attraction. 

“I may consider it if you follow”, he said. 

Sasuke did not answer. He had come to enjoy leading, and this was how he had imagined them while he had watched the dancers. He was no longer as ready to give in as he had been when they had started dancing. “You know you're better at following”, he said. 

“You'll never master the dance anyway”, the guy from Earth Country Said. “You'd never stop discussing. Besides it's not a dance for virgins.”

Sasuke knew that he had won: Naruto would never admit that there was anything he could not do. He wondered whether he should tell Naruto that there was an easy solution to the problem that they were both still virgins.

“It's European Tango again”, he said. “Let's dance.”


	50. Chapter Forty-Seven: Sasuke messes up twice

Naruto did his best to be rational about the fact that Sasuke was obviously gay. He did his best to accept what he could no longer deny: That one day Sasuke would leave him and have sex with one of these gay men. Yet the images kept turning up in his mind, and they remained disturbing: Sasuke completely naked, being touched by one or the other of them. No longer the guy from Earth Country or his husband, as Naruto had understood now that they loved each other and did not dream of seducing Sasuke, nor any other of the men of their tournament class, whom Naruto had come to like. He preferred their loose acquaintances for these fantasies, men he knew from dance teas or free training, and often the men who molested Sasuke had no faces at all, or were just hands, touching him all over, and suddenly the hands were his own and he realized that he had been masturbating for quite some time. 

He sat up and looked at Sasuke who was lying next to him, sleeping peacefully, and he had to force himself not to plunge himself into these fantasies again. 

Sasuke might like it, he told himself while he washed his face with cold water. My hands, not anyone else's: He was well aware that Sasuke preferred him to the other men. It was a new and strange idea to be liked that way – Sakura would never have wanted to be touched by him, and he doubted that Hinata, who had claimed to be in love with him, would have wanted his hands on her body. 

It was fortunate that Sasuke woke up so that Naruto had to stop his musings for now. 

In the meantime Sasuke was suffering. He was suffering even worse than when he had been firmly convinced that Naruto was straight so that his love would remain unrequited and having some fun dancing with him before they got back to Konoha was all he could hope for. Now Naruto was dressing up and asked how he looked and cared about his opinion - Sasuke had managed to convince him to go shopping a second time, now with him as advisor, and buy some more tight, sleeveless shirts – and he offered to embrace him. But then Sasuke reminded himself that both Naruto's embraces and his habit of laying his arm around Sasuke's shoulders were well within the limits of what was normal between friends, and when they had been buying clothes Naruto had kept asking whether a piece of clothing would not make him look girly. 

Not knowing whether to hope or despair Sasuke sought comfort and encouragement from the other gay men. When Naruto dropped his guard (mostly when he discussed football) Sasuke was free to talk to them without Naruto listening, and he'd ask them whether it was possible that a person changed their sexual orientation (one of the new words Sasuke had learnt in Music Town). He was told that it was impossible, but also that a number of them had realized that they were gay only when they had been well beyond puberty, denying their attraction to men even to themselves and doing their best to be normal and feel something for women. It was what Juugo's mothers had already told him, yet during these days he needed to hear it again and again from as many people as possible. 

“My husband knew that he was attracted to men by the time he was fourteen”, the partner of the guy from Earth Country told him. “When he was sixteen he heard that in Music Town gay people did not have to hide and came here. For him it was men in general. I however had always considered myself straight, but not really interested in sex, and my girl-friends did not mind, they even appreciated that I was not as fixated on sex as their previous lovers had been. It was only occasionally that I thought that this or that guy was rather good-looking. But when I met him it was no longer thinking that he was rather handsome, nor was it mere sexual attraction: My whole soul was in flames, and all I longed for was to be near him, and be touched by the light that seemed to emanate from him. With him I knew from the beginning that he was special, and he seemed to change me from the core of my soul. It took me some time to realize that what he really did was touch the core of my soul, which I used to hide in the presence of other people, bringing it to the light. I had to understand that this core was myself, not him, and that I had to remain myself if I wanted to be with him.”

The words went well over Sasuke's head. “I've always known that Naruto is special”, he answered, responding to what he understood, watching Naruto, who was explaining the causes of Inner Center's spectacular defeat at last Saturday's match. Then it occured to him that the real problem lay elsewhere.

“Do you think that he might think me special too?” he asked.

The man shrugged. “He seems quite attached to you.”

“Yeah, he's clingy. Sometimes it gets annoying. But that's not the same as thinking I'm special.”

“He doesn't seem too eager to find a girl”, the man continued.

Sasuke considered it. “He's in love with a girl from Konoha”, he said. 

“Not the one he wants to marry you?”

“Yes that's the one”, Sasuke answered, surprised that the man knew about Sakura. He saw the man cringing. “But I'm not interested in girls. I never was. When we return to Konoha she will have to accept it, and then she'll turn her heart to Naruto and marry him.”

“And you?”

“I'll die.”

Sasuke said it in a rather casual tone: He had got used to this idea a long time ago. He did not care whether he died as long as it was after getting his revenge. The man however was shocked.

“You don't die”, he said, laying his arms around Sasuke. “That would be stupid, dying just because the first guy you happen to set your eyes upon happens to be straight.” He turned him left and right to make him look around. “Naruto's not the only good-looking guy in the world.”

Sasuke looked to the ground, feeling embarrassed. When he looked up again his eyes met Naruto's, and Naruto was obviously not happy with what he saw. Sasuke shook off the man's arm and went over to Naruto.

“What was that?” Naruto asked, laying his arm around Sasuke in his turn. 

“He was comforting me, that was all. I told him of our plans for when we return to Konoha. You will marry Sakura and I will die.”

“You won't die”, Naruto said, caressing Sasuke's shoulder. He felt the need to brush off the other man's touch. “And anyway, you have me to comfort you, you don't need anyone else.”

He returned to explaining why the decisions of Inner Center's coach during the last match had all turned out wrong. 

“Naruto”, Sasuke asked. “Do you think I'm special?”

Naruto looked surprised and annoyed, being interrupted in his conversation about football. “You are more conceited and arrogant than other people, that's all that's special about you”, he said. 

Sasuke felt hurt, but Naruto didn't care, he had to contradict one of the other men who insisted that it was not the coach's fault but that the players had grown lazy and showed a lack of ambition. When Naruto discussed football he did not give much thought to anything else.

He did not give much thought either to Sasuke's desire to learn Tango Argentino. However, when he once was on his own in the community center and happened to come upon a group of dancers in one of the seminar rooms he decided to take measures of his own.

So he was prepared when Sasuke announced that he had enregisted the two of them to a seminar of Tango Argentino that taught a style specifically created for same sex couples, meaning that the roles of leader and follower changed throughout the dance. 

“I've enregistered us to a dance class too”, Naruto replied. “It's called Rock 'n' Roll. It's a real sport, and includes acrobatics. That's a way of dancing that's appropriate for ninjas.”

Sasuke was surprised: He would not have thought that Naruto would initiate some dancing by himself. He agreed, of course, and they just had to make sure that the two seminars were not at the same time.

“I have also considered what you said about being ninjas”, he continued. “I've done some research and found out about what's called Martial Arts here. It's quite similar to our taijutsu. I've found a dojo we can use for training.”

Now Naruto was surprised. He had nothing against some training with Sasuke (in fact he longed to show him how good he had become), still he wondered what Sasuke was intending: Dancing kept him distracted from his desire for revenge, but practising ninjutsu might remind him of it again. Also there was another problem.

“Is it not expensive?” he asked.

“I was able to make a deal”, Sasuke said. “We teach a group of kids, and in exchange we get permission to use the dojo for free.”

“You think you can teach a group of kids?” 

“Yes. Why not?” 

“You don't know anything about kids.”

“I used to be one myself.”

“Kids here are different.”

“They're still kids. Are you with me or not?”

“I am”, Naruto answered, sighing. “Just to make sure that you don't mess up.”

Sasuke felt hurt but he didn't answer. There was no time for being offended anyway; they intended to watch the movie Naruto had rented from the shop for gay people. They carried the TV-set and the DVD-player upstairs, and then it took them some time to connect the two devices, as they were not familiar with modern technology. They managed, eventually, and got themselves some drinks and a bag of crisps, as they had heard that this was what you did when you watched TV. They sat down on the bed, Naruto played with the remote control, while Sasuke moved nearer to him so that their shoulders touched. He looked at Naruto, who smiled, and Sasuke felt encouraged to lay his arm around Naruto's shoulders – there was nothing wrong with it, was it: Naruto was doing it all the time to him.

Naruto leant against him, still focussing on the remote control and trying to figure out how it worked. Finally he managed to start the movie.

It was set in one of the countries beyond the mountains, beyond the desert, beyond the sea that had never heard of the ninja nations and that were vice versa not known in the ninja countries, except for Music Town that was more open-minded. Prejudice against gay men ran high in that place, they were considered weak, unmanly, promiscuous and unnatural. They had to hide that they were gay, and only met in clubs or even in some corner of a park in the night, sometimes hidden from the authorities, sometimes known to them and tolerated, but not officially approved. 

The movie featured a couple who fell in love, and it made a point of stating that they were serious about their love and not just looking for some quick pleasure, as the cliché of the time claimed. It showed the difficulties they faced just finding opportunities to see each other, not to speak of situations where they could actually make out (they did not have sex in the movie.) It showed their efforts to hide their relationship from their family and their acquaintances, and Naruto felt with them and was angry at all those who refused to recognize the seriousness of their love. 

After some time the pressure increased: New laws were passed that forbade homosexuality and set longer terms in prison as punishment. One of the lovers broke and agreed to marry a young woman while the other despaired and began to act recklessly until he was caught and convicted. Naruto suffered with him, his heart aching from his lover's betrayal, and he leant more heavily against Sasuke and clutched his hands. He felt relieved when the other lover remembered their love and sought out his friend in prison to plea for him – prison life was hard, and the man's health was failing. It did not work out, however: Not only did they not release the first lover, but also they were overcome by their passion and got caught, and this time it was death penalty for both of them.

By the time the movie ended Naruto was crying, and he felt all stiff and tense with emotion. Sasuke caressed his shoulder and his hands, trying to comfort him. He himself had managed to retain some distance from the movie, getting annoyed at clichés and particularly getting annoyed that five minutes of the movie had been reserved for the wedding night of the guy who had married a woman, while the two men themselves had only been shown kissing. (By now he longed to know how lovers had sex with each other, as opposed to the sex he had watched between Kabuto and Orochimaru.) Also he enjoyed holding Naruto in his arms and comforting him far too much to feel sad for the guys in the movie, and besides, he thought it was all their own fault: Why did one of them marry a woman, and the other have sex with men he wasn't in love with?

Still he was affected by the movie but not by its personal moments. The fact that gay men had not only been despised and ostracized but also actively hunted down and even convicted to death, not for any crime but for loving each other, had been new to him. But then he knew nothing about places beyond the ninja countries, and not much about the ninja countries themselves either. 

He would have been prosecuted in these places too, he thought, not for being an Uchiha but for being gay. It was an oddly satisfying thought – satisfying because it confirmed him in his anger against the world that had been intent on excluding him and his people from its soil. (Not Music Town, however. He excluded Music Town and its inhabitants from his grudge.) Also it gave him a sense of connection to other gay people everywhere, even though he had been prosecuted for being an Uchiha, not for being gay. They'd been hated for nothing, he thought, and he was glad to be one of them. 

Naruto had still not moved, except that he was caressing Sasuke's hand that held his own hands. 

“Next time we'll choose a movie with a happy ending”, Sasuke said.

“Yeah”, Naruto answered, sitting up and slowly recovering from his sadness. “You won't leave me again, will you?`” 

“I won't”, Sasuke answered, feeling confused. He was gay and Naruto was straight, wasn't he? He got up to make some tea for the two of them, not without caressing Naruto's shoulder. When the water was boiling he understood what Naruto had referred to and why he had been that strongly affected by the movie. “I will stay with you”, he said. “You have promised me to find a way to avenge my family, haven't you?”

Naruto nodded. His thoughts returned to the movie, and the ideas it conferred about gay men. 

“This place the movie was about”, he began, “it was quite similar to the larger towns of the ninja countries, actually. Not Music Town, of course, where gay people make out on the lawn just as anyone else, but like the capitals of Fire Country or Wind Country. Gay people there meet in bars and clubs just as in the movie.”

Sasuke listened interestedly. He had never been to any of the larger cities and had no idea about gay life there, but he had read about it: “In the magazine you bought it was said that Danzou closed the one gay bar that existed in Konoha.”

“Oh, did he?” Naruto said. He was not in a mood to discuss Danzou's actions at the moment, nor to listen to Sasuke's reproaches that he had not made any progress with finding a plan for his revenge. “I was not aware that there were any gay bars in Konoha. Anyway, on my journeys with Jiraiya we sometimes went to these bars in order to collect information. They were good sources normally, as drunk people tend to be careless about what they say, and also gay people are not very patriotic. Now I understand why: They have no reason to be patriotic if the state persecutes them.”

“In Music Town they are as patriotic as anyone else”, Sasuke replied.

“People here aren't patriotic at all”, Naruto said. “They don't have to, as Music Town is too small to be taken seriously by anyone. The only thing people are patriotic for here are their football clubs.” He thought about it. “Actually gay people support their teams just as anyone else. So it's true perhaps that they are not unpatriotic by nature.”

Sasuke, who had been eager to defend both gay people and the inhabitants of Music Town, was content. He considered some further implications of what Naruto had said: “You mean you went to gay bars with Jiraiya when you were a kid?” He wondered what Naruto might have seen there: Maybe it had been just as bad as what he had watched between Orochimaru and Kabuto. “Were you allowed there?” 

“Jiraiya bribed the cashiers”, Naruto said. “He always warned me, however, telling me that these gay men always thought about sex, which struck me as strange as Jiraiya always thought about sex too.”

He considered it. “I guess I was completely naive then. I did not understand that Jiraiya was warning me that they might take an interest in me. I thought them just funny, even though Jiraiya's ideas about them being weak and effeminate had made an impact on me. Actually I had no idea what being gay was about, not even when I saw the men kissing. After some time Jiraiya stopped taking me with him to these bars. People had given him funny looks, I think. But on one day he made me stay with a couple of friends of his so that he might collect information, though in reality he went to meet one of his female acquaintances. It was weird first to listen to his list of bad character traits and then see him greet them as old friends.”

Sasuke shifted in his chair. This could get interesting.

“They were quite nice however. We did some cooking together, then we ate what we had cooked, and when we had put the dishes into the dish-washing machine we played a board game.”

He grew melancholic. “Actually it was the closest thing to family life I ever had. I could not believe that they were as weird as Jiraiya had said, so I asked them whether they really enjoyed fucking other men in their ass.”

Sasuke remembered that Naruto had never known which questions he should rather not ask.

“They asked me who had given me this information, and then told me to ask Jiraiya whether he enjoyed to fuck women in their ass. Then they explained to me that being gay was not about having sex but about falling in love with other men. To long for someone with all your heart, to be in heaven when he's with you, and despair when he is far away, and to care for him and make his wellbeing the most important aim of your life.”

He remembered how he had thought of Sasuke when he had heard these words back then, longing more for him than he had ever longed for Sakura. He would not tell this Sasuke now, however, who was waiting eagerly for the continuation of the story. He would not tell him how his heart had reached out to him when he had heard the men's words, how he had longed to be near him again. He still longed for him, even though he was with him now, only at a few metres' distance, looking rather impatient. He'd just have to get up and bridge the little distance that was still between them, embrace him, kiss him, become so close to him that nothing would separate them any more.

“But they had sex too, hadn't they?” Sasuke asked, interrupting Naruto's fantasies.

“Well, yes, they had”, Naruto answered, rather annoyed. Sasuke's question had scattered all his romantic feelings, and the warmth that had engulfed him. “At least they told me so when I asked them”

Sasuke looked satisfied, and Naruto was even more annoyed. 

“Let's get the TV-set downstairs”, he said.


	51. Chapter Forty-Eight: teaching taijutsu

Tension grew between the boys after they had watched the movie. Sasuke had been as open as he could about being gay and not being content with some kind of romantic friendship, but Naruto's reaction had made him despair. He tried hard not to show any signs of attraction to Naruto, not realizing that this resulted in a nervousness and shyness that irritated Naruto more than his former attempts of seduction had.

Naruto, on his side, was trying to come to terms with the fantasies that kept haunting him, fantasies that were now clearly about him and not any other man molesting Sasuke. He tried to be rational about them, telling himself that Sasuke probably would not mind and that people in Music Town would not mind either, still it was not easy to shake off the standards of Konoha that did not approve of men having sex with each other, and the idea that men who allowed themselves to be molested in such a way were weak and effeminate and had no respect for themselves. Also he was not yet ready to change his image of himself: He cared for Sasuke, didn't he, he would not dishonour him.

In the meantime Sasuke tried to distract himself by preparing his taijutsu class for children. He was very serious about it, to Naruto's astonishment, maybe as a reaction to Naruto's claim that he had no idea about children from Music Town. He talked to the head of the Martial Arts school, and even went out of his way to ask Karin for advice. He wrote lists of exercises and techniques he wanted to teach, and then discarded them and wrote new ones. 

Naruto wondered. He still doubted that Sasuke would get along with the kids. He had never shown much interest for Juugo's new friends and foster siblings, and was far too serious for children. He also wondered about his own role in the whole affair: Sasuke had spoken of “us” when he had told of his deal with the owner of the dojo, but he did not include Naruto in his planning. When it was time to leave for the class, however, and Naruto was still insecure whether Sasuke wanted him to join, he was told clearly to get up and put on his sandals.

The dojo was on the topmost floor of the office of an old abandoned factory, and the whole area showed signs of decline. Yet once they had entered the dojo it was fine: It had a wooden floor, and some mattresses were leaning against a wall. There was also a mirror, just as in the dance hall.

They were half an hour early and spent the time opening the windows, rearranging the mattresses, and, in the case of Sasuke, being nervous and rereading his list of exercises again and again. (Naruto still had no idea what was on it.) They were both glad when the first kids arrived with their mothers: eight all in all, six boys and two girls, all starting from zero. Sasuke greeted the mothers politely and asked the kids for their names, doing his best to smile at them in spite of his nervousness. He had donned the clothes he had worn at the day of his arrival in Music Town and even brought his sword, and the kids looked at him in awe (in spite of the ridiculous rope). Naruto felt jealous: With a pair of extra loose pants and one of the two tight shirts Sasuke had chosen for him he looked all too ordinary. The kids also asked to be allowed to touch the sword, and Sasuke let them feel the sharpness of the blade, without letting go of the hilt however. The kids were impressed. 

The mothers weren't. “You don't teach them sword fighting, do you?” they asked. 

“Not at that age. Maybe when they are older.”

“When?” one of the kids asked. 

“When you're ten”, Sasuke gave him a random number as answer. 

The kid smiled triumphantly at his mother. 

The mothers asked a lot of other questions, and Sasuke explained to them that he planned to teach the kids mainly taijutsu, but also some preliminary exercises to get them connected with their physical and spiritual energy so that one day they might learn some ninjutsu too. He still had no idea whether a person not born to a ninja clan was able to forge chakra, so he repeated what Karin had told him: that every person was able to learn it to some degree.

(It turned out that one of the mothers was a participant of Karin's seminar, and had actually been recommended to him by Karin, so that it was lucky that Sasuke did not contradict her.) 

He was quite glad when all the kids had arrived, so that for the mothers it was now time to leave. He made them sit on cushions (never chairs, Karin had told him, people here think that ninjas are too tough to sit on chairs) and asked them again for their names, he introduced himself and told them a bit about the ninja arts he was going to teach them, though in simpler words than he had used with the mothers.

Naruto also introduced himself. 

“Are you a ninja too?” the kids asked him. 

He was quite annoyed by now that Sasuke had been in the spotlight all the time, and he was on the point of telling the kids that yes, he was a ninja too, and a better one in the bargain, when he realized that this was not the time to play out his rivalry with Sasuke (who was still nervous) and answered the question in a matter-of-fact way.

The lesson itself went quite well. For warming up they did some sophisticated game of tag (an advice of the dojo's owner), and then some basic exercises Naruto remembered well from their days at the academy. Sasuke still seemed nervous to him, trying to cope with his nervousness by being strict and setting a lot of rules.

He also taught them a kick, and the kids learnt that having a good balance on the other leg was more important than the kick itself. Focussing on the leg they were standing on ran against the kids' natural wildness, but they accepted it as they had understood that kicking was pointless if afterwards you fell over.

Sasuke made them practise the kick and went around, showing those who kept falling how to stand correctly, and teaching those who had mastered the kick how to combine it with a step. He seemed more confident now that he was done with the explaining part, and he told Naruto to go around too. Naruto did his best, but he had difficulties to see what the kids were doing wrong, so that he could not do much more than say: “Try again! Don't give up! Keep practising!”

He watched Sasuke, who was just telling one of the girls that she should not stand all stiff but bend her leg a bit to gain a good foothold. Naruto tried to look for similar mistakes, but no one had ever told him about such details. He had just somehow figured out for himself how to do it. Only now with dancing he had learnt that it was possible to spot out and correct tiny mistakes that still had great effects. 

“Practise a lot, then you'll soon be as good as the boys”, Sasuke told the little girl and moved over to the next child, a boy, and for a fraction of a second Naruto saw him activate his Sharingan to see through the child's movements and detect the mistakes. He's cheating! Naruto thought and was on the point of protesting, but again he realized that this was not the correct moment. 

He turned to the next boy, one of the smallest, who was a bit on the hyperactive side. His mother had explained them about it, telling them that she had heard that martial arts could contribute to overcoming this infliction.

They had learnt what it meant: The boy had difficulties to follow the rules of the introductory game, and when Sasuke explained the kick he would not listen to the end but tried it out before Sasuke had finished explaining, and announced that he would kick everyone. Yet when the kids were told to practise he kept falling over. When the other boys who had already mastered the kick began to tease him about it he began to cry.

Watching him hurt Naruto as he felt reminded of his worst moments at the academy. He had kept a distance from the boy, but now he was the next kid on Naruto's tour, and also he felt angry against the other boys who had teased the small one. He joined him and tried to comfort him: 

“It doesn't matter if you have difficulties now”, he said. “just keep practising, then you'll beat them and show them who's really best.”

Sasuke glared at him but then turned again to the child he himself was helping. 

The litte boy looked triumphantly at the boys who had teased him but when he tried again he again fell over. Naruto felt desperate as he did not know how to help, and he was actually glad when Sasuke came over.

“I'm sure you'll learn it too”, he said. “Now first practise standing on one leg!” 

He took one of the boys hands and told Naruto to hold the other. Naruto felt the pressure increase and decrease as the boy sought for balance.

“It's not necessary to stand straight and stiff”, Sasuke said. “Just try not to fall over. Naruto will stay with you and hold your hand.”

He patted the child's shoulder and went over to the next kid. Naruto felt annoyed that Sasuke had told him what to do, but again he refrained from protesting. Actually he was quite content helping the little boy to learn to stand on one leg. He still had difficulties and was easily frustrated, but with Naruto holding his hand and smiling at him he was ready to try again.

He listened to Sasuke while he held the boy's hand. He told off the other kids for teasing the hyperactive boy, and advised them to focus on their own training, but then he got friendly again and and showed them some new details. He then went over to the second girl, who seemed quite gifted, to teach her to do a step after the kick. He was friendly and warm to her too: How had he learnt to get along with females? Naruto wondered. 

When every kid had learnt the kick they again played a game. Sasuke taught them to bow, and only then they were allowed to chat as usual.

The mothers arrived to pick up their kids and they left, the kids talking happily about what they had learnt. Only when they were by themselves again, airing the room and tidying up, Naruto realized that the lesson had thoroughly drained Sasuke. He made him stop opening and closing windows and aimlessly moving around the cushions and led him to one of the benches that were arranged along the walls.

“Have a break first”, he said.

Sasuke was silent for a few seconds, then he spoke. “They are all so cute and innocent”, he said.

Naruto had perceived the kids differently. Sure they were cute, as all children were, but they were not cuter than, say, Juugo's new sisters, and some, for example the boys who had teased the small, hyperactive kid, had not been cute at all. The more talented of the girls was not cute either, in his opinion; she was too fierce and too tough, and, if he was honest, neither was the hyperactive boy, who had been rather annoying. He seemed haunted, not relaxed and trusting and friendly as the second girl, or Juugo's sisters.

“They are all so cute”, Sasuke repeated.

“You think so? Even the one who kept falling over?”

“Sure he is. Haven't you seen it?”

Naruto had not. 

“You were a cute kid too”, Sasuke said, understanding what was really important. He took Naruto's hand. 

Naruto could not return the compliments. He had thought Sasuke rather annoying at the time of their entry to the academy, though later, after the massacre, when Sasuke had become an orphan too, he had tried to get in touch with him, until he had realized that Sasuke was not interested. Only the photo on his sideboard showed him how cute Sasuke had been. 

Sasuke had to judge from memory. There was no picture proving that he, Naruto, had been cute too. 

“How can anyone think of hurting such a cute kid”, Sasuke continued.

Naruto sought for an answer. “Itachi did not kill you”, he said. “In the end he would not kill his beloved, cute little brother.”

He pressed Sasuke's hand, and they sat silently for some minutes, Sasuke leaning heavily on Naruto, the gel in his hair feeling against Naruto's cheek.

“They just wanted us to vanish from the earth”, he said. 

“I am glad they didn't succeed”, Naruto answered. 

Slowly Sasuke calmed down, while Naruto carefully caressed his hands. He was aware that they were far too close and that he should stop it while it was still time. On the other hand he enjoyed the weight of Sasuke's body against his own, his warmth, even the smell of the gel. Also, he was moved by the way Sasuke was moved by the kids' cuteness.

“You were really good with them”, he said. “You're also good with the youngest of Juugo's new siblings. Where did you learn this?” 

Sasuke thought about it for a while. “Itachi”, he finally said. “He'd play with me, and he'd teach me ninja arts.”

He sounded sad again, and Naruto regretted that he had asked him, reminding him of his brother.

“I'm sorry”, he said. “I should not have brought up your old sorrow. But today there's no reason to be sad: You can be proud of yourself. You really did well.” 

“It's okay”, Sasuke said. “I don't mind remembering, even though it hurts. Remembering Itachi enables me to teach these kids. I would not be able to do this if I still thought of him as nothing than the crazy murderer of my family. I used to shut out all memories of how he cared for me when I was little, so that I might hate him without restraint. Now I can remember him again, and though it's painful, I'm glad of it. It hurts and always will hurt, but I refuse to forget, and won't allow the wound to close.”

Naruto listened, touched by Sasuske's words and at the same time he felt excluded as he did not have a share in the love between Sasuke and Itachi and had never experienced anything similar. He pressed Sasuke's hand to his heart.

“I also refused to let the wound close”, he said. “Everyone told me to forget and to stop being a fool, and to abandon you, but I refused, and now you're with me and I'm glad of it.”

Sasuke did not move, only that very carefully he caressed Naruto's chest with the back of his hand. His feelings were in chaos: He was annoyed that Naruto had made him return to the present instead of allowing him to silently mourn for Itachi, but as he was also excited about the physical intimacy Naruto had initiated he did his best not to break it again..

“It's time to leave for dancing”, he finally said.


	52. Chapter Forty-Nine: The Forth Letter

Dancing did not go well that evening. Sasuke was still upset, both from teaching the kids and from remembering Itachi, and Naruto, if he was honest, was too, mainly from meeting the hyperactive kid. He, however, could cover it up by feeling responsible for Sasuke. 

They made more mistakes than usual, but they spent less time discussing whose fault it had been. After some time Sasuke, who had been leading, gave up trying to dance complicated figures altogether, and dancing returned to be what it had been before they had become ambitious: holding each other in their arms while moving in harmony. 

Sasuke kept smiling at Naruto, avoiding his eyes except for short moments. Naruto sensed that Sasuke was still mourning and that he was gentler and softer than on other days. Often his signs lacked clarity, but by now they had got used to each other so well that Naruto recognized them all the same.

Communicating through the gentlest change of pressure of their hands... Warmth flooded through Naruto's arms and then into his whole body. Was Sasuke just gentler than on other days, or was he caressing him? Naruto felt tempted to caress him in his turn, but he did not dare. He felt weird: Admiring Sasuke for how he had been with the kids, and at the same time wanting to protect him. It was as if he was dissolving. He had always cared for Sasuke, always longed to be with him again, but now something else was happening: His whole soul went out for Sasuke, to a point that he was losing touch with the ground, and he felt that the line that separated them as two distinct persons was getting blurry. He had to stop it while it was still possible but he did not know how, and he did not want to hurt Sasuke.

When the dance class was finished the men assembled outside to decide whether they wanted to go to the pub now. (They always did, but it always took them some time to decide.) Naruto told them that he and Sasuke would not join them this evening. 

“Sasuke has taught taijutsu to a group of children, and he's exhausted now”, he said, much to Sasuke's annoyance. He was exhausted, to be sure, but he did not appreciate that Naruto decided in his stead. Also he was more exhausted from his sorrow for Itachi that had resurfaced than because of the lesson with the kids itself.

“So you taught them ninja arts?” the men said. 

Sasuke nodded.

“Did it go well?” they continued.

He nodded again.

“Well, it can be exhausting, most of all if it's the first time. Just take care!” 

They went home silently, Sasuke still lost in his thoughts, mourning Itachi but also thinking of Naruto and his words that he would not let the wound close, and of the feel of the beat of Naruto's heart against the back of his hand. Naruto was well aware of the tension between them. He knew that they had got too close and that he should withdraw to reestablish the line that separated them, if that was what he wanted. But he did not know what he wanted.

After some time he got tired of the tension and laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke blushed and stared straight ahead.

When they arrived at their place the patron's daughter handed them another letter from Sakura. They took it upstairs, and when Naruto opened it he found again a smaller envelope for Sasuke. He passed it to him, and began to read his own letter.

Dear Naruto! 

My letters must be boring to you, and I wish that I had to tell you something that is not just a repetition of the bad news I sent you before but something that might give you some joy – but there isn't anything. We do our best to make life go on, working hard and overstretching our strength, but even with such a modest aim a lot of us don't succeed. The death toll is high, and the number of people who are seriously and permanently injured is even higher. Not everyone accepts it in good humour as Kakashi, who is still working as a nurse for Tsunade. Lee for example had a complicated fracture of the pelvis; it's healed by now, which is a miracle in itself, but it's not as it used to be and he can't run any longer, or do kicks. He's lucky that he's able to walk again, and I guess that being a ninja helped him with this, yet being a ninja was his life, and he cannot imagine another one. 

I try to comfort him and encourage him as best as I can. I don't have any words of comfort or encouragement, however, for those whose loved ones are dead. I try, knowing it's my job to help them as well as I can, but I just can't. I feel angry and helpless when I see someone die who might have lived if Danzou had not sent him to a meaningless mission when he was not in a state for it. I hear how other people comfort the mourners, telling them that he died for the sake of Konoha and that he's a hero now, and how they should be proud and glad, and that no one has greater honour than those who gave their lives for their friends. I know that I should say something similar, but I just can't, not if the mission was ridiculous and unnecessary, not if it was clear from the start that the team in charge would not succeed. 

I've talked about it to Iruka. He told me that this is what he has to teach the kids now, too, preparing them for situations where they might have to sacrifice themselves. He has received some new textbooks for history lessons, and a new subject, morality, has been introduced. It is mainly about learning to be loyal to Konoha and to the Hokage, to obey his orders and the orders of any other superior, and to be ready to give your life when necessary. The changes in the history books are more subtle but he could not help noticing that while before the stress was on the Hokage who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of the village it is now on ordinary citizens who died for the Leaf without expecting any honour or recognition. 

He thinks it is because Danzou knows quite well that people will notice the difference between him and his predecessors if there are too many stories about how they sacrificed themselves. They will realize that the previous Hokage offered protection, and people looked up to them with gratitude, while Danzou demands that they give their life. Actually Iruka thinks that the presentation of Konoha's history is more accurate in the new books, but he resents the message that the kids should get themselves killed for the Hokage.

I have told Iruka that you are well and alive in some town far in the West, and not hidden away by Danzou in some secret place. He's glad of it, and he sends you his regards. He also sends his regards to Sasuke. He still remembers him well and wishes him all the best.

Sai and myself have continued our search for evidence that the Uchiha clan was murdered on orders of the Sandaime and his advisors, or evidence of the Uchiha clan plotting a coup d'etat, but so far most of what we've found is rather trivial. It's all like “I followed Uchiha Mikoto, she entered a hairdresser's where I could not follow her, and after I waited for an hour she returned.” There is also information on Sasuke: “Uchiha Sasuke met with his brother Itachi, they went into the woods and practised throwing kunai. I could not hear what they were talking about. After some time they returned back to their home.” It's boring, and it's nauseating to realize the amount of interest people take in other people's private lives. What we haven't found yet is anything substantial. 

I've discussed it with my mother. She's safe, I think: I've begun to distrust everyone, but she's not even originally from Konoha, and she doesn't share the ideals of ninjas. Both she and my father have never approved of my choice of profession and were glad when I decided to become a med nin. I think they are worried that I might get myself killed as a regular ninja. They are worried now, too, but I tell them that Sai and myself are cautious and won't get caught. 

Actually it's not just that they are concerned about my safety. They also don't think it's worth the risk. It's not that they like Danzou or that they don't care if he was responsible for the murder of an entire clan. It's that they fear that this information won't turn the public opinion against him. The Uchiha have never been popular, and they were even less so after the kyuubi's attack. No one had any issues with them being ghettoized, or protested that the restrictions were imposed on them on the basis of mere rumours, and everyone agreed that it was a good idea to have them under surveillance. There was a lot of resentment that they were still in charge of the military police, and they had lost almost all of their authority. Whenever someone got arrested people sided rather with him than with the police. No one was upset when they were murdered, much to my mother's surprise who even after ten years of living in Konoha had not understood the amount of suspicion against them. It was rather as if everyone had accepted the murder of the clan as the natural course of events. So she doesn't think that people will rise against Danzou when they learn that he is responsible for the massacre. She says that we will have to find something else. 

I'm glad that you managed to persuade Sasuke to stay with you. I am a bit worried, though. I have done some research on the place you're staying at, and it seems that their rules of personal conduct are a bit lax, to say the least. Keep an eye on him, and don't forget your promise!

Love Sakura


	53. Chapter Fifty: Not your fault

Naruto put down the letter, sobered by Sakura's account of the situation in Konoha and surprised that Sakura had talked of her mother, whom he had never met, even though they had been teammates for years. He was also surprised at her mother's perspective on the Uchiha massacre, which was very different from his or Sasuke's: Sasuke, he thought, was mainly interested in getting proof that Itachi had been ordered to kill the clan, meaning that he had not been all crazy and evil, and that he had always loved Sasuke. Naruto himself mostly wanted to know whether taking out Danzou was justified, even though Sakura's letters from Konoha made him think that even if he had not ordered the massacre there were still a lot of reasons at least to remove him from office. 

He looked up: Sasuke had finished his own, much shorter letter quite some time ago. 

“You look worried”, he said. “Do you want to read something funny to cheer you up?” 

He passed his letter to Naruto: It was written on pink paper, and it was much heavier and of better quality than the sheet the letter to Naruto had been written on. There were also flowers on the margin.

Naruto began to read: 

Dear Sasuke!

What do you mean saying you're gay? I'm pretty sure you aren't. You've always been the manliest and strongest of the boys, even when we were kids. Someone must have manipulated you into believing you're gay, but you're not, I'm sure. It's Naruto's fault, probably. He's always been obsessing about you, and it's pretty sure he's gay, with the strange stuff he's always been wearing and his ridiculous showy behaviour, always doing crazy stuff in order to impress people. He's always been weird, but not you. He's clingy and possessive, but that does not put you under any obligation to give in to him. 

Always in love, Sakura

Sasuke was smiling when Naruto looked at him after having finished the letter, challenging and teasing him, but he also looked nervous. Naruto felt angry, at Sakura but also Sasuke: for making him read the letter and learn what Sakura thought of him. It was ridiculous, wasn't it? She was in love and getting irrational, wasn't she? Yet he could not help thinking that there was a grain of truth in what she said: He had always been clingy and possessive concerning Sasuke, and he had been weird and sought attention as a kid.

“You don't think it's true?” he asked Sasuke. “You don't think it's my fault that you're gay, or that you think that you're gay?”

Sasuke was irritated. He had expected Naruto to find the letter as absurd as he did.

“I don't think I'm gay”, he said. “I know it. I've known it for years.”

“But it's not my fault, is it? It's got nothing to do with me? People have told me that you're born straight or gay, and that it's not possible to change this.”

“People have told me that they turned gay when they met someone special”, Sasuke replied. “Or that they realized they were gay when they met someone special.” He hesitated for a few seconds, then he decided that this time he would not chicken out: “You couldn't have helped it”, he said. “It's the way you smile, and the warmth in your eyes. I saw it when we first met, and it hasn't changed since then.”

Naruto sat stiff and tense when he heard these words. He had expected something on these lines for some days now, but not now, and not in this form. 

“It's okay though”, Sasuke said. “I don't blame you. I don't mind being gay. I enjoy it, actually. Here in Music Town they behave in a respectable way, and are respected in return. They're not like Orochimaru here.”

Naruto listened, but none of Sasuke's words entered his brain.

“It's okay, even if you are not gay. I'd never have been straight. I never cared for girls. I always found them annoying. The idea of falling in love with one of them was always strange to me. Now I understand why. Here I can live, and fall in love.”

Slowly Naruto's ability to think was returning. He realized that he had to say something, that he could not let Sasuke continue to talk randomly and nervously as he did now, just to fill the minutes of waiting, not being at all his usual self. (He was still explaining to Naruto that he was not angry at him, and that he liked this place where he felt accepted, repeating the same things over and over in different words, and sometimes in the same words.) He had to answer to Sasuke, and to come to a decision: For days now he had pondered on what his answer would be, and not come to a conclusion, and now he had to decide within a few seconds.

He left his place and went to the wardrobe where he knew he would find the Valentine kit he had bought on Gay Pride Day. Sasuke stopped talking and watched him anxiously. 

Naruto found the item, which was still gift-wrapped. He sat down next to Sasuke on the bed, took his hands and laid the Valentine into them.

“It's something that's meant to be given to a person you like”, he said. “I bought it on the day you arrived in Music Town. I should have seen it as a sign.”

 

Sasuke still looked nervous. He was not sure whether this was not again one of the things Naruto did for him because he was his friend. Slowly he unwrapped the kit, with Naruto's hand lying on his shoulder. He found a box of cardboard, which in its turn contained a pretty round wooden box and a plastic bottle not unlike the ones that contained the gel he used for his hair. He lifted the lid of the box and found some condoms in aluminion foil, but having never seen any condoms nor knowing how they were wrapped he had no idea what to make of them. 

“People here wear them against sexually transmitted diseases”, Naruto explained.

“I don't suffer from any”, Sasuke answered while he opened the foil.

“Well, they are meant to ensure that this remain so”, Naruto answered, a bit annoyed by Sasuke's remark. 

Sasuke wondered: Was Naruto intimating that he, Naruto, suffered from a sexually transmitted disease? He could not believe so. (Actually Sasuke had never heard the term and could only conclude what it meant. Neither did he know of the different kinds of diseases that existed.) Or did Naruto want to protect him against sexually transmitted diseases he might catch from other men?

He had now removed the foil and found the condom itself. He held it between the fingers, still not having any idea about it.

“It's also used as a contraceptive”, Naruto said. “A protection against pregnancy”, he added, not certain whether Sasuke knew the word contraceptive. 

“I am male and I am gay”, Sasuke said. “Pregnancy is not among my concerns.” (He had never heard of mpreg of course.) 

He had managed to unroll the condom. It looked limp and rather sad, but at least it was obvious now how it was intended to be used. 

“It's weird”, he said.

“You can also fill it with water and use it as a balloon”, Naruto continued, feeling hurt that his present had been turned down. Also he realized that the condom was no longer fit to be used for its original purpose. “The form is a bit unusual, but actually they are of higher quality than the balloons you get in toy stores.”

Sasuke took another look at the cardboard box and found a leaflet with instructions. He read them, then he took the bottle and read the text on the back side too. 

“Now this makes sense”, he said. “This is just how people here are: considerate and practically minded.”

Sasuke unscrewed the bottle and took it to his nose. “Smells well”, he said. “You want to have a try?” 

He took Naruto's hand and distributed some of it on his lower arm. It was a gentle gesture, much gentler than how they normally touched each other. Naruto shivered from Sasuke's tenderness, and he felt a wave of warmth flood his body. It was getting all real suddenly: He was a bit scared.

Sasuke held both his hands even while Naruto lifted his arm to smell the lube. 

“Smells well”, he said. “Better than your hair gel anyway.”

Sasuke let go off his hands. For some time they stared at each other, then Naruto took Sasuke's hands, and Sasuke smiled again. Carefully his hands went up Naruto's arms, to his shoulders, his neck, his cheeks. Naruto sat still and did not move.

“You like it?” Sasuke asked.

“Yes, sure”, Naruto answered.

He was not sure at all. Sasuke's light touch on his skin, the intimacy of having his hands on his cheeks – it was not like anything he had imagined. Actually he had not imagined being touched by Sasuke at all. He had only dreamt of touching him. His heart widened, his head felt all soft so that he was unable to think clearly, and he also felt a bit sad from the tenderness.

“You aren't used to this”, Sasuke said, caressing Naruto's cheeks with the back of his hands. “You will have to learn.”

Naruto knew what he was referring to, and he felt hurt. “Don't tell me you know more about this than me. You haven't slept with Orochimaru, have you?” 

Sasuke broke the contact. “No, I haven't. I told you, he was disgusting.” 

Naruto took Sasuke's hands and caressed them, and then he returned Sasuke's gestures, touching his shoulders, his neck, his cheeks. This was more like his dreams, but it did not make his soul melt as being touched had. He wondered whether he was as gentle as Sasuke, and whether his touch did to Sasuke what Sasuke's touch had done to him, Naruto. Just when he was about to ask he saw that Sasuke was smiling, and that his eyes were closed, so apparently he had got it right.

Sasuke opened his eyes and caressed him again. Carefully he drew him into an embrace. They had embraced before, but in most cases it had been him, Naruto, who had initiated the embrace, and it had always been some friendly hugs, rather firm than gentle.

They were much more careful, much more tender, much more insecure now, and for this reason, their embrace was much more intense. Their cheeks touched – never had Naruto been so close to his friend. He felt Sasuke's breath in his neck, and then he turned to kiss him on the patch of skin where the cheek and the ear met. (This was where his lips happened to be.) Slowly his lips moved in the direction of Sasuke's mouth, and then Sasuke turned his head to meet him.

They were shy at first, kissing with closed lips, but soon Naruto grew more audacious and touched Sasuke's lips with his tongue. He had not imagined them to be so fine and soft... Sasuke responded to him, their tongues met and began to play with each other. Again, Naruto lost his ability to think, and he felt that his soul was melting. Warmth flooded his body, and this time it reached the lower regions of his body too. He had not known that it was possible to get aroused just from kissing. (Jiraya had never mentioned it in his books.) 

They had to part in order to breathe. They looked at each other and smiled, and Sasuke lowered his eyes. Again Naruto was struck by his beauty: I should tell him to smile more often he thought. Or maybe not, or only when it's just the two of us. He felt confident with his decision now, more than he had when he had given the present to Sasuke. No woman's features were finer, clearer or more regular, no woman could look cuter than Sasuke when he smiled. 

Sasuke reached out again, touching the back of Naruto's hands. “So your present was not just for me but for the two of us”, he said.

“Yeah, sure”, Naruto answered, blushing now in his turn, and luckily for him he did not know how cute he looked in Sasuke's eyes. 

There it was again, Sasuke thought, the trust and warmth he had fallen in love with, and the familiar look of defiance: Whatever you do to me I won't stop to consider you my friend. 

“Don't worry”, he said, smiling. “Tonight I don't want to have sex. Tonight I just want to kiss.”

He would not admit it, but he was a bit scared too and would not have wanted to have sex right now for his own sake either. Kissing had turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable, and for the moment he was not interested in more. 

“You're really Itachi's little brother”, Naruto said. “He spoke to me just in the same way at our last encounter: Today I don't want to fight. Today I only want to talk.”


	54. Chapter Fifty-One: Reality

They did not kiss much more that evening. Instead Sasuke rested his head against Naruto's shoulder, cast again into his sorrow for Itachi. He asked Naruto to tell him more about that last encounter with his brother, and Naruto told him what he wanted to hear: that Itachi had cared for Sasuke, that the purpose of the encounter had been to make sure that he, Naruto, cared for Sasuke too, that Itachi had entrusted Sasuke to Naruto and that he, Naruto, had readily accepted this duty and would look well for him and do everything to ensure his happiness. 

He had held him fast and caressed him, finally without restraint, letting his hands wander all over Sasuke's back and through his hair. 

“You still haven't found a plan”, Sasuke said. “You never will.”

“I will. It's just that I still don't know how we can openly kill the current Hokage of Konoha and not get punished for it.”

“I don't care if I die.”

“I do”, Naruto answered, kissing Sasuke's neck. Being in love certainly had its advantages. “You left me once – don't do it again.”

He covered his face in kisses, but Sasuke did not respond. Finally they went to bed, and Sasuke snuggled against him, resting his head on Naruto's shoulder. He fell asleep rather quickly, but Naruto stayed awake, caressing Sasuke carefully in order not to wake him up.

So this is what it means to be lovers, he thought: caressing Sasuke without having to take care that he did not cross a certain line. Caressing him as he felt like, and having Sasuke seek comfort at his shoulder, accepting him as a provider of comfort. Being closer than ever before. He enjoyed it thoroughly, even though the idea of sex still scared him. Kissing at least had proved wonderful: Being in each other's mouth, exchanging saliva, no barrier separating them any more. 

He kissed the tips of Sasuke's hair, waking him up, and Sasuke got aware that the blood flow in his left arm had stopped. He pulled it out from under Naruto's body. 

“You won't leave me now, will you?” Naruto asked. 

“I won't”, Sasuke answered. 

Naruto moved to kiss him, and they caressed each other for a while before they decided to dissolve their embrace so that they might sleep. They tried to hold hands however while they fell asleep.

They did not hold hands any more when Sasuke woke up in the morning. Naruto was still sleeping. Sasuke too pondered the change in their relationship: being lovers now, not just friends. For weeks now this had been his most important aim and ambition: since he had watched the couple making out on the lawn of the Museum of Natural History and thought that this was something that he might enjoy with Naruto and still respect himself. They had made out now, and it had turned out to be quite different from what he had imagined. He had not known for example that Naruto's skin would be so warm, or that there were spots where it was all soft, nor had he imagined the stubble around Naruto's chin, and that he would actually enjoy its scratchiness. He had not imagined that Naruto would return his caresses, and that they would be gentle in spite of his general clumsiness and insecurity – quite the opposite of Sakura, he thought: she had never doubted that what she was doing was right, and never taken notice when he had told her that she hurt him. He had not imagined that Naruto's eyes would be brilliant and warm as he had never seen them, or that Naruto would kiss him back as he had, timid and eagerly at the same time, and passionately when it had been established that kissing was okay, entering Sasuke's mouth but also willing to give Sasuke access to his own. Naruto's way of kissing had made him remember how clingy he was and how he refused to let him go – he put it all into his kisses – Sasuke should have known. 

He sat up and looked at his friend, now his lover. Still sleeping on his back as he always did, his mouth open and altogether looking a bit idiotic. Sasuke reached out to touch his cheeks, but Naruto woke up and caught his hand. “I'm still a ninja”, he said. 

He was smiling, and the smile was also in his eyes. He did not look idiotic at all but as beautiful as in the fantasies Sasuke entertained of him when they were apart from each other. 

Slowly Naruto led Sasuke's hand to his cheeks, and then drew him down to his chest to embrace him. Their lips met, and then the tips of their tongues. They separated again, looked at each other, smiled. They caressed each other's cheeks, then their shoulders, enjoying the feel of the other's skin. Sasuke did what he had long wanted to do: he touched Naruts chest, feeling the muscles under the fabric of his T-shirt. Naruto smiled, then he closed his eyes, enjoying the caresses silently. Sasuke returned the smile: In his fantasies he had imagined touching Naruto, but not Naruto smiling. It made him feel comfortable and warm and it doubled the pleasure of touching Naruto. Caring for him, pleasing him – carefully his hand moved under Naruto's shirt. Naruto opened his eyes and his smile widened and Sasuke took this as an invitation to touch Naruto's belly and chest under the shirt.

Feeling the form of his muscles, but also finding some patches of very smooth skin with some fat underneath on Naruto's flanks, just between the ribs and the hipbone. He felt for the nipples and learnt with astonishment that they stood erect from being caressed. (Naruto had known this from reading Icha-Icha but he had thought that it only happened to women.) He played with the navel and touched the Cursed Seal. 

“Rather not”, Naruto said, taking Sasuke's hand and stopping him. “Don't disturb the kyuubi.”

“I don't care”, Sasuke answered, annoyed about the interruption. “I can control it.”

“I prefer if you don't have to prove it”, Naruto answered. Sasuke obeyed, but grudgingly. Silently he resolved that eventually he would be allowed to touch every single patch of Naruto's skin, including the part around his navel.

For the moment, however, there was still a lot more to discover: his hands moved downwards, expecting to encounter Naruto's boxers, but instead moving over hip bones and ending up at Naruto's thighs. Somehow Naruto had managed to take them off under the blanket while Sasuke had been caressing his chest. 

Naruto's thighs were muscular and hairy, but the inner sides were smooth and soft. Naruto opened his legs a bit to give Sasuke better access. He was highly aroused now, and while at the beginning of their activities he had slung his arm around Sasuke's hips and caressed him he had now stopped moving and only enjoyed what Sasuke was doing. 

Sasuke still avoided touching Naruto's genitals, only sometimes he accidentally touched the tip of Naruto's cock, which was fully erect now. He was still too shy to touch it, but also he enjoyed teasing Naruto. At one point Naruto could no longer bear it, he took Sasuke's hand and moved it to his balls and to his cock. For Sasuke, fantasies he had never dared to indulge in were coming true. He played with Naruto's balls, explored the crack between scrotum and thighs, and caressed the cock, wondering about the delicate skin. Very cautiously he touched the tip, watching Naruto's face to see whether he enjoyed it – he was smiling, leisurely he caressed Sasuke's belly, lost in bliss. After some time he took Sasuke's hand and laid it around his cock. 

“You know how to do it, don't you?” he said. Sasuke nodded.

It did not take long until Naruto came. Sasuke watched his breath grow faster and then relax. In his fantasies he had touched Naruto's genitals and felt ashamed of it – he had not thought that most of the joy would be on Naruto's side, though now that it had happened it seemed logical. He had not thought that Naruto's smile as he was approaching orgasm would fill him with a warmth that was far beyond mere sexual pleasure.

If not Naruto's smile had not vanished just after he had come, as if he was in pain from something. He drew Sasuke close to him and pressed him against himself. 

“What's wrong?” Sasuke asked, talking directly into Naruto's ear. 

“The kyuubi.”

“Don't worry: I told you I can control it.”

Naruto preferred to get it under control himself. Not much had happened anyway: The kyuubi had only woken up and tried to break the bars of its cage, but there had been no danger of it succeeding, as the Seal was still in place.

Sasuke only saw how Naruto breathed heavily for a few times and then calmed down. He smiled again, remembering his orgasm. His hands moved all over Sasuke's back now, pushing his T-shirt up to his shoulders. Sasuke sat up to take it off, and when Naruto's hands moved downwards and caressed his ass he took off his underpants too. He lay down on Naruto, taking care not to crush their cocks. It felt all natural now, skin against skin while they kissed each other, and he pulled the blanket over the two of them. 

“Take off your shirt!” he told Naruto. “You look like a little child with your shirt on and your boxers off.”

Naruto lifted Sasuke off his body and obeyed. Sasuke just looked in fascination as Naruto's muscles flexed while he was moving his arms. He moved a bit more after his shirt was off. 

“You like this, don't you?” he said. 

Sasuke blushed and reached out to touch Naruto's chest. Naruto returned the gestures, making Sasuke wonder whether he enjoyed the sight of his own naked body as much as he, Sasuke, enjoyed the sight of Naruto's - at least he seemed to have a lot of fun waking up Sasuke's nipples. Being the object of Narut's desire still felt weird: Sasuke only knew how it was to be the object of desire of Orochimaru or the girls of Konoha, but not of someone he actually liked, and whom he trusted to care for him. On the other hand he felt reassured: Naruto would not leave him for this or that girl. 

Naruto's desire and the warmth of his love engulfed him, and for some moments Sasuke lost any sense of his own person – he was only Naruto's beloved, carried safely by the strength of Naruto's affection.

“The guy from Earth Country was correct”, Naruto said, making Sasuke return to reality. “It is really enjoyable.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“He told me that most people enjoy sex, and that you would, probably, too.”

He looked a bit sheepish, and he had ceased to caress Sasuke. Sasuke took his hand and led it to his heart.

“Sure I do”, he said. “Why shouldn't I?”

He felt annoyed that Naruto had discussed his sexuality with a third person.

“I was afraid that you would end up in a stranger's bed”, Naruto continued. “I had nightmares about it.”

Sasuke thought about it: In the long run he probably would have fallen in love with someone else if Naruto had not changed his mind about being straight.

“And you would not have minded if I had married Sakura?” 

“Sakura's not a stranger”, Naruto answered. “And besides, she's a woman. She would not have molested you.”

“She did it all the time. You're much better.” He moved Naruto's hand all over his body, and with his other hand he caressed Naruto's cheeks. 

“So you like it”, Naruto said, reaching out for him with his free hand too.

“I do: With you I like it.”

“So I won't have to improve my technique?” 

Again Sasuke wondered.

“The guy from Earth Country told me I would have to improve my technique if you didn't like sex”, Naruto explained. 

“You did not have any technique until yesterday”, Sasuke replied, carefully embracing Naruto. Skin touched skin now, and they felt each other's heartbeat. They kissed and Naruto's hands moved down to Sasuke's flanks and hips, teasing and arousing him. Sasuke really liked it, even though it was also a bit scary, Naruto's hands so near to the most intimate parts of his body. Gently Naruto made him lie down, kissing his Adam's apple, then the spot where his shoulders and the neck met, then Sasuke's nipples, his free hand (the one he didn't need to support himself) caressing Sasuke's thighs.

“I still have to show you my technique”, he said. 

“Don't try”, Sasuke answered. “I know you don't have any. Technique has never been your strong point.”

Naruto looked hurt, and Sasuke knew he had to reassure him. “Just follow your heart”, he said, and Naruto smiled again – each of his feelings immediately showed in his face, Sasuke thought, and this was one of the things he loved about him. He felt warm and tender, and finally he gave himself to Naruto, allowing himself to enjoy his caresses, learning that being touched, while it had never been part of his fantasies, was far more arousing than touching. He moved Naruto's hand to his genitals, which by now craved for the contact. He stopped now thinking at all, he only felt how Naruto played with them, he got more and more aroused, and then he laid Naruto's hand around his cock and showed him the pace he wanted him to move at. He came after a short time. 

He caught his breath and Naruto kissed his cheek. 

“Let's have breakfast”, Naruto said.


	55. Chapter Fifty-Two: Coming Out

They were naked while they had breakfast, and they kept looking at each other and touching their cheeks, arms and chests. Embracing and kissing they found hardly any time to eat. 

“I had not thought that it would be so easy”, Naruto said. “Just following my desire to be near you. I would not have imagined that you would like it.”

“Sure I like it”, Sasuke said. “You make me feel alive.”

He had desired it and worked towards it for several weeks now, and still he was surprised both by his own feelings and by Naruto's desire (though he should have known, of course). He had not known that Naruto's caresses would make every single part of his body feel alive. He was still not sure whether he wanted to come alive under Naruto's hands, but he had chosen it, had he not: he had chosen Naruto knowing he'd make him feel alive again (even though feeling alive was a new and unexpected feeling) and he could not chicken out now.

“You make me feel human”, Naruto said, taking Sasuke's hand and moving it over his body. “When you touch me I know I'm no longer a monster.”

“You never were”, Sasuke said. “You're definitely human. Everything about you is human.”

Carefully he touched the seal around Naruto's navel, and then began to play with his pubic hair. Naruto laid Sasuke's hand around his cock, and Sasuke brought him to orgasm again. He watched him lose control, supporting him with his free arm while Naruto leant back: Never Naruto looked more beautiful, he thought. Naruto blushed and smiled, then he drew Sasuke into his arms, kissed his face and his shoulders, and caressed him until he came too, losing himself in Naruto's arms, dissolving in bliss. 

They were late for their shift, even though it began only in the afternoon. They had agreed to hide the change of nature of their relationship, or at least not to announce it openly, as it was not the business of the people who ate at the restaurant. Still Naruto could not resist touching Sasuke's hands, or his back when he passed him, and the regulars soon noticed that something had changed. Some smiled, some frowned, and Naruto smiled back, proudly or defiantly. He had avoided appearing gay for weeks, but now he did not care any more: He had finally won not only Sasuke's friendship but also his love. He felt triumphant: Sasuke would not leave him, and also, he had now gained the recognition he had craved for for all his life. He was human now, body and soul, and in his happiness he could not restrain himself and touched Sasuke whenever there was an opportunity, just to make sure that Sasuke was still there. Sasuke was shyer and more embarrassed, but he was happy too, and proud in spite of his embarrassment: proud that Naruto would show to everyone that now he belonged to Sasuke. He did not know that the radiance in his eyes betrayed him just as much as Naruto's more open display of affection.

“Now you're happy, aren't you”, the man who had helped him with the shrine said to him.

Sasuke nodded and smiled, but the man's words had made him feel sad as they reminded him that his family was dead and that he still had not made any progress in avenging them. 

“You know, I've always thought it strange that a man should be in love with another man, and I still do, but if you like it I guess it's okay. You're okay, anyway – well, it's weird, and I really cannot understand it. But I'm glad that you're happy now.”

Among their fellow dancers there was no need to hide anything, and Naruto put his arm around Sasuke's shoulders as soon as they entered the room, looking triumphantly at the other men. I have won him for myself, his eyes said, none of you will lay hands on him now. His hands glided down Sasuke's back, ending up on his ass, and then moved upwards again. He was not aware that the most obvious change was not his but Sasuke's behaviour: He had slung his arm around Naruto too, and he smiled, neither in triumph nor flirting with people but just in happiness.

They joined the guy from Earth Country and his husband.

“So you've managed to persuade Naruto that you're special”, the husband said.

“No, he hasn't”, Naruto replied. “I have persuaded him that I am special.”

Both men looked confused, and Sasuke felt annoyed. He had hoped that Naruto would no longer embarrass them now that they were together.

“Don't you think he's special too?” the man continued.

“Well, he's my friend”, Naruto said, drawing Sasuke closer to himself. He thought a bit and decided to be serious. “He's always recognized me as a human being”, he said. “He was ready to accept me from the very beginning.”

“That's not special”, Sasuke said. “That's just normal. You are human, after all.”

“Sure you're human”, the husband of the guy from Earth Country said. “Why should people not accept you?”

Naruto shrugged. He did not feel like telling the men about the kyuubi. 

Dancing had gained a new quality: Both were more aware now of the seductive nature of the movements of their hips, and both felt still insecure and embarrassed about it. They were also very sensitive of the other's movements, and partly wished that they weren't here, training, but at home, so that they could give in to the desire that awoke in them. They were glad when the break began so that they could sit down and snuggle and kiss.

“It's okay here”, Naruto said. 

Sasuke doubted it as he had never watched any of the men engage in extensive kissing sessions during the break; usually they confined themselves to a kiss on the cheek, if at all, when they greeted and welcomed each other.

In the end, the other men effectively prevented them from spending the whole break kissing: When Naruto went to buy them some drinks the men who were standing at the bar made him stay. 

“Enjoying yourself?” they asked.

“Yeah, sure”, Naruto answered, blushing. 

“So you've figured it out, finally. Now stay with us and have a drink with us, as you're one of us now.”

Naruto had no choice, he had to stay and give Sasuke a sign to come over, so that instead of kissing they had to discuss football. This time Sasuke joined the discussion too, as it was about a referee's questionable decision. He was still more interested in the referees' performance than in that of the players, even though he enjoyed playing football himself.

I am one of them now, Naruto thought while he listened to Sasuke's explanations why the referee had been wrong. It still felt weird, though he had actually come to like the men and thought there was nothing wrong with being one of them. Yet they were from Music Town, while he was still from Konoha, and still a ninja, wasn't he?

Juugo's mothers, when they had lunch together on Sunday, immediately perceived the change in their relationship. They didn't try to hide it, admittedly, with Naruto touching Sasuke's hips or shoulders every other second, and Sasuke caressing Naruto's hand or laying his hand on Naruto's arm. 

“So you've finally won his heart”, the women said. “But you didn't force it, did you? Naruto did not just give in to you in order to do you a favour.”

“I don't give in to anyone”, Naruto said, “least of all to Sasuke. But he's my friend, isn't he? There's nothing wrong with doing him a favour.”

The women looked confused. “There is, when it's about sex.”

“I'll do everything to make him happy”, Naruto said, kissing Sasuke's shoulder and neck and caressing his belly.

The women looked even more confused. “But you enjoy it too?”

“Sure I do. What makes you think I don't?”

“Sasuke told us you're straight.”

Naruto sat up. He was feeling increasingly annoyed. “You may think that Sasuke won my heart because he realized earlier than I did that having sex with each other might be fun. But in reality it's me who won his heart, making him stay in Music Town instead of travelling aimlessly around the world.”

Just in time he had remembered that telling the women of Sasuke's plan (and now his own too) of making Danzou pay for his crimes probably wasn't a wise move.

“We guess you must have won his heart, or he wouldn't be in love with you”, the women admitted, not wanting to annoy him any further.

The women's daughters, who were around seven, were more sceptical about the boys' love. To their mothers' disappointment they had all turned out very girly, always wearing pink, playing with dolls and loving horses. The mothers tried to get them interested in football, they had also tried to persuade them to join the taijutsu class Sasuke and Naruto taught (they were just the right age), but it did not work out: they remained girly.

Now they approached the two boys, three of them (with a close friend), holding hands and leaning against each other, obviously embarrassed and pushing each other forward, until one of them found the courage to talk.

“Are you in love now?” she asked. 

“We are”, Sasuke answered, laying his arm around Naruto's hips. 

“But like this you can't have children”, her sister said.

“Your mothers could have children too, even though they're lesbian”, Sasuke said.

“Yes, but they're women,” the girls replied, smiling proudly.

Sasuke considered explaining to them that in order to create a child men were just as vital as women, but he decided against it.

Naruto wondered too: He had completely forgotten about Sasuke's plan to refound his clan: Being gay had seriously complicated this project. 

Juugo's friends, now his fosterbrothers, were even more reserved than their sisters. 

“So you're gay now”, they said.

“Yeah”, Naruto answered, suddenly feeling embarrassed. For the first time someone had made him feel that this was something to be ashamed of. Sasuke looked cold and without expression.

The boys withdrew without answering. After some time they returned. Juugo spoke for them.

“I have persuaded them to ask you to play football with us even though you're gay now. You're still the same persons, aren't you?”

“Sure we are”, Naruto answered, and so they played football for the rest of the afternoon.

They did not much change their behaviour in public, meaning that Naruto still laid his arms around Sasuke whenever he felt like, only that now Sasuke would occasionally return the gesture. Sasuke also asked that they went to Heroes' Park to make out on the lawn. He had longed for it since he had first observed the couple making out on the lawn in front of the Museum for Natural History: For him it meant that they had become true inhabitants of Music Town. He was a bit shy, however, and left it to Naruto to watch the couples around them and figure out what was okay and what not.

Naruto also suggested that they should visit the sides of the river where the young people hung out in the evenings. There the rules of behaviour were even more relaxed than in Heroes's Park: They could sit or even lie in close embrace, they could take off their shirts and caress each other's upper bodies, or wear short pants and touch their legs and feet. They could lose themselves in kisses, but they also did what Sasuke desired most: Naruto lay down with his head on Sasuke's lap and Sasuke caressed his chest and sometimes his thighs, but mostly his hair and his face: his cheeks with the scars, his mouth, his forehead, or he would kiss Naruto's closed eyes. He told Naruto not to do anything, which posed a true challenge to him as he liked to be active and take the initiative, but he gave in, entrusting himself to Sasuke, being vulnerable. It was extremely arousing, not just in a sexual way, but he felt moved and touched through and through. 

On one of these evenings the young men they played football with met them at the riverside, and they invited them to join them at the campfire they had lighted nearby. Of all their acquaintances they were the only ones who did not comment in any way on the fact that they were lovers now.

From that evening Sasuke and Naruto made out and had sex at home, and went to the riverside to hang out with other young people. They still could lean against each other or kiss, but not too deeply. Sasuke was content: making out in public had been important, but now that they had done so it was not necessary to continue it. The reservedness he had grown up with returned, and he wondered about the young people who would do everything except openly have sex.

“Why don't they make out at home?” he asked the husband of the guy from Earth Country. “It's more convenient, and you don't have to care about being watched.”

The man had hesitated for a few seconds but then answered honestly: “Most people of your age still live with their parents. Not all parents approve of their kids having sex, or of their kids' choice of partners, or it's simply embarrassing for the kids if the parents know what they are doing. Or they want to wait with introducing their partners to their parents until they are sure it's the right one, or they are embarrassed of their parents and don't want their partners to know them. There's a lot of reasons.”

Sasuke nodded. He had not considered that other young people still had parents – even though he often thought of his parents he rarely imagined what it would be like to actually live with them. It would have taken them some time to accept that he was gay, he realized. 

It was on one of these evenings at the riverside that Suigetsu passed their group with some of his own friends. Seeing Sasuke leaning against Naruto and caressing his hands, which lay on his, Sasuke's, thighs, Suigetsu stopped to have a closer look.

“Enjoying life?” he asked.

“Sure”, Sasuke answered, sitting up, blushing, and then trying to look cool and unmoved. 

“Glad to hear it. It suits you.”

Sasuke did not answer.

“Karin will contact you soon”, Suigetsu continuied. “She's bought a second-hand washing-machine. She needs some strong men to carry it, and I can't do it, because you know...”

He made his arms turn into jelly, and then turned them back into flesh. So he was again able to control his limbs' aggregate state, Sasuke thought. 

They weren't contacted by Karin, however, but by one of the female couples of their dance class. They had just moved in with each other, so that one of their washing-machines was no longer needed. Karin had heard of it from Juugo's fostermothers, and it turned out that the two women knew Sasuke and Naruto, though not very well. Without taking counsel with Karin they found a day that suited all four of them when the boys would pick up the washing-machine. 

“Don't do it on your own!” one of the men of their dance class told them. “You're young and still growing.”

“We are ninja”, Naruto replied. “We can deal with this.”

“Well, yes”, another man said. “You already told us that this is what ninja really do.”

“It's the muscles in your back”, a third one said. “You've been trained to use them more efficiently than ordinary people, haven't you?”

Neither Sasuke nor Naruto had ever given much thought to their backs. They did, however, after their first attempt to lift the washing-machine: It had not looked that heavy, but had just seemed a case of thin metal. After some thought on how to have a good grip on the thing, however, they finally managed to lift it. Still they had to change positions twice while carrying it, and they were quite out of breath when they had arrived downstairs. Juugo was helping too: he held the cables and tubes, and wiped up the water that had been dripping from he machine. Suigetsu did not help: He had brought a sack of dirty laundry that was more than enough for him. He dropped it gladly on the pushcart brought by Juugo. 

It was one of these useful inventions Music Towns had imported from other places, Sasuke mused while he followed Suigetsu and Juugo, who were pulling the wagon, simple and effective, just not for getting the washing-machine upstairs. Naruto offered to create some bunshin: He had not dared to when they had still been with the couple who had sold the washing-machine (and also he had not thought of it.) He knew that he would feel all exhausted as soon as they dispersed, but he would cope with it. Sasuke however refused: It would be cheating, he declared.

Karin looked horrified when she opened the door for them and saw that they were sweating and struggling to keep the machine from falling. 

“Oh no”, she said. “You shouldn't have carried it! I have borrowed a sack truck so that you wouldn't have to lift it.”

It was too late now – neither Sasuke nor Naruto were in a state to discuss, they just wanted to get the thing in the bathroom as quickly as possible. Only then they were ready to have a look at the thing Karin had mentioned: So people here had even invented a device that would help them get things upstairs too, meaning they did not need any ninja at all.

Naruto went to their place to grab a sack of his and Sasuke's dirty laundry, and Sasuke sat down in the living-room where he had a look at Karin herself. She was covered in bandages, meaning she had finally had the surgery to get her bitemarks removed. 

“Interesting”, Suigetsu said, “But I'm afraid you'll look very boring once you've lost your scars. It will be a pity. Nobody really cares about perfect-looking women.”

Karin looked annoyed and threatened to beat him, but restrained herself in the last moment.

“You'll look very pretty”, Sasuke said to calm her down. “People will like you.”

“Oh, you think so”, she said, taking off her glasses and looking at Sasuke with the expression she normally put on when she tried to seduce him. He froze – he should not have forgotten himself.

“You're wasting your energy”, Suigetsu said. “You've always been. He's gay. He's with Naruto now.”

Karin looked incredulous. 

“I caught them in the act at the riverside, so I know for sure”, Suigetsu continued.

“We were not having sex in public”, Sasuke said, quite annoyed. 

“The situation was still clear”, Suigetsu said.

Karin thought about it. “So this is why it was so important for him to keep us with him”, she said. “We should have known, then we would have taken better care of you, and may left this town a bit earlier, or at least not the three of us would not have moved out from his place.”

Sasuke felt even more annoyed. He thought that it had been Karin who had made them stay so that she could accept that job to teach medical ninjutsu, and get her bitemarks removed. He thought of the washing-machine he and Naruto had just carried upstairs: “Don't tell me that you don't want to stay here”, he said. “You don't buy something as heavy as a washing-machine if you plan to leave and travel again.”

Karin looked embarrassed, as if she had been caught.

Juugo had been busy in the bathroom, connecting the washing-machine, and then he had opened the door for Naruto when he returned. Now he and Naruto were listening to the conversation that took place in the living-room. 

“Don't worry”, he said. “I will carry your machine when we leave Music Town.”


	56. Chapter Fifty-Three: Martial Arts

They spent a lot of time in bed during these first days of being in love, exploring each other's bodies, learning how to please each other. For both of them, allowing the other to touch them came as a challenge, even though by now they knew that this was necessary in order to achieve orgasm (and having the other watch while they lost control was another challenge.) 

Touching the other, however, finding the soft and sensitive spots of his body, watching him enjoy the caresses and finally spending himself was pure bliss: Seeing the other's beauty, seeing him unguarded, knowing that they were able to give joy to him and watching over him while he lost control. 

Slowly they learnt to trust: Sasuke realized that Naruto was no longer the kid he had fallen in love with when he had been a kid himself, that Naruto was more than his dark blue eyes, always asking to be loved, that he was also more than the youth he had met in Orochimaru's lair who had inspired his sexual fantasies, proudly insisting on their mutual bond against all evidence and then trembling in his, Sasuke's, embrace and losing his ability to defend himself: Naruto had grown strong in his own right, strong and confident, always ready to give love (rather than receive it) in such an abundance that Sasuke often felt overwhelmed and even intimidated. 

He had chosen it, he reminded himself, he had chosen Naruto's love, his warmth, his unbreaking loyalty, he knew that Naruto would never willingly hurt him, and still sometimes it was too much.

For one reason, however, he was very glad that Naruto usually took the initiative with having sex: It assured him that Naruto did not just want to do him a favour but genuinely enjoyed and longed for it. 

At some point they proceeded to oral sex. It was quite natural, actually, as from the beginning both of them had enjoyed not only touching but also kissing all of the other's body, and leaving out the genitals soon seemed artificial. Again, Sasuke had been hindered by memories of what he had observed between Kabuto and Orochimaru: Kabuto had hated it even more than anal sex, and they had never changed roles with oral sex, while with anal sex they occasionally had. (Kabuto had hated both roles.) 

“I can pretend that what is in my ass has nothing to do with me”, Kabuto had explained, “but with my mouth this is not possible.”

For all these reasons Sasuke had hesitated to ask Naruto to touch his genitals with his mouth, yet on the other hand Naruto's cock in its nest of golden hair looked all too tempting. There was nothing wrong with doing something that Naruto would probably enjoy, was there? He let his mouth wander downwards on Naruto's body, lightly touching his navel, following the line of hair that connected navel and pubic hair, and then going on to kiss the cock and the scrotum. The skin was just like any other, he realized, a bit more tender if anything, and certainly not weirder in his mouth than the hairy regions around the genitals. Kabuto had been wrong, he thought, there was nothing disagreeable or even disgusting about giving your lover pleasure with your mouth.

Naruto had grown nervous after a few seconds, moving around and twitching under Sasuke's caresses. When Sasuke looked up he took him by the shoulders and drew him up to his face, kissing him deeply on his mouth, ruffling through his hair and caressing his hips and his ass. Sasuke felt irritated.

“You liked it?” he asked when he manage to disentangle himself from the embrace.

“Sure I did”, Naruto answered and kissed him again. “I just needed a break.”

Sasuke smiled, he kissed the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks and continued what he had begun. He was too gentle however: In the end he had to use his hands. 

Afterwards they lay side by side, talking.

“In Icha-Icha the hero always has to persuade his lover to give him a blow-job”, Naruto said. “It's always a proof of her deepest love if she agrees to give him this ultimate satisfaction.”

“In the Gutsy Ninja she gives him a blow-job too”, Sasuke said. For some reason what he had just done for Naruto had nothing to do with the love scene at the end of the book. “You still have to write the introduction, you know.”

Naruto had intended to tell Sasuke that in Icha-Icha a blow-job always meant that the hero had won her fully over, and that she finally recognized his greatness and was ready to admire his manliness, but somehow this now felt rather inappropriate. 

He kissed Sasuke and embraced him, chest touching chest and belly touching belly, and his hands moving all over Sasuke's back, and then his lips moved downwards, he made Sasuke lie on his back and positioned himself between his legs. Sasuke looked a bit worried, not knowing Naruto's intentions, but when he understood he lay back and relaxed. 

Naruto was bolder then Sasuke, and he did not only kiss and lick his cock but took the whole glans in his mouth, using his lips to exert pressure and his tongue to taste the first drops of semen. He had, in fact, longed to do this just as much as Sasuke had: He had always thought Sasuke good-looking with his fine, clear and still distinctly masculine features, even when they had still been kids and his principal feelings towards Sasuke had been jealousy and envy, and even then he had envied him not only for his more handsome face but even more for his taller and leaner body. When they had fallen in love this admiration had extended to his cock, which was, in Naruto's eyes, just as the rest of Sasuke, a very special and fascinating blend of delicacy and masculinity, and he did not cease to be astonished that he was allowed to touch it, and that touching it would give pleasure to Sasuke, who used to be so reserved when they were kids. 

He had imagined how it would be to kiss it, and tease it with his tongue, and how Sasuke would react to it, only that now it was impossible to have a look at Sasuke's face as what he was doing demanded his full concentration. He managed to make him come, finally, using only his mouth, and then Sasuke's reaction was the same as his own had been: Pulling him upwards and covering his face with kisses, ruffling his hair and caressing his back and his ass.

It took Sasuke a bit longer to learn to make Naruto come without taking recourse to his hands. It was Naruto's own fault, Sasuke claimed, insisting that he did not use his Sharingan on him, but in truth he was quite content with having to find out by himself how to do it. 

If not the bliss of orgasm on Naruto's face only lasted for some seconds – after this he would always look scared, the scars on his cheeks deepened, the canines grew. Sasuke watched him concernedly, ready to activate his Sharingan if necessary, yet Naruto always managed to get the kyuubi under control by himself. 

It did not get better, Sasuke thought: The kyuubi kept trying to make use of Naruto's loss of control. It caused Naruto pain, obviously, but he refused to talk about it. It's only some seconds, he said, then everything was fine again, and he could cope with it. He enjoyed all the rest and would definitely not allow the kyuubi to keep him from having sex. He could have sex, Naruto told himself, just as anyone else. He was human, not a monster... 

For all the time they spent on learning to have sex there were still other important matters to attend to. There was, for example, their next taijutsu lesson. Sasuke invested far less time in preparing it than the first one – actually it was not until two hours before it took place that he managed to force himself to leave their bed and Naruto's warm embraces and sit down at the table, still stark naked, to add some more exercises to his list, and some notes on what details he would tell the kids about that kick. (Naruto watched from the bed, also still naked.) 

In spite of his lack of preparation Sasuke was far less nervous than the first time. He knew the kids now and trusted that they were eager to learn and ready to listen, not always thinking of pranks as Naruto had when he had still been a kid. (Even the hyperactive boy did his best to listen, he was just not able to concentrate for long.) 

When they arrived it turned out that there was an additional child this time: the gentler of the girls had another girl at her side. 

“Her friend really liked it”, the new girl's mother said. “She talked about it all the time, and now my daughter wants to learn it too.”

Sasuke answered that it was still possible to join the group, though actually he was not sure how to deal with the fact that the girl did not yet know the kick he had taught the week before. 

The girls themselves were sitting on the window-sill in a corner, looking at a magazine for music (with pictures of good-looking singers), and occasionally casting a glance at Sasuke. He's still popular with the girls, Naruto thought: these two are just less annoying than Juugo's sisters. Sasuke was also popular with the mothers: Not all of them turned up, but those who did complimented him on how he had handled the kids.

“My son really liked it”, one of them said. “Finally he has found someone he takes seriously, and someone who takes him seriously, demanding that he learns and works and practises in order to be successful. At school it's still just playing and only doing what you're interested in and only as long as you enjoy it, and no one gets complimented for doing well, out of fear of discouraging those who learn more slowly. It does him so well that you ask for discipline and perseverance and teach them that you can't begin with the fun stuff but first have to lay the foundations, and practise hard, even if it's boring.” 

Sasuke looked embarrassed: He had demanded far less than what had been normal at the ninja academy in Konoha, while on the other hand he was also aware that Itachi had been much less strict with him, mostly because he, Sasuke, had been ambitious of his own accord and had not needed to be told to practise harder.

Naruto listened and laughed inwardly, watching Sasuke's interactions with the mothers: He still did not know how to deal with females, he thought, least of all those who were in love with him, meaning all straight women in town, even those who were twice his age and happily married.

He's with me, he realized. He's mine now. He could have had any woman he wanted, or any man, but he chose me instead. 

Another mother had begun to talk now: “I'm so grateful for what you did”, she said. “My son's so used to doing what he wants. His father allows him everything, claiming that boys are wild by nature and should not be turned into tame, obedient girls. He never listens to me, and his teachers have despaired too. And now you turn up and give orders and he accepts it and keeps asking when it's Tuesday again.”

Sasuke blushed and thanked her.

The next mother told him that her son suffered from aggressions that he could not control. (He had been the one who had teased the hyperactive kid.) “I so hope he will learn to control himself”, she said. “I so hope he will find some inner peace and cease to turn his aggression against other people too.”

Sasuke had not noticed that the boy had been particularly bad at controlling himself. (He had teased the hyperactive kid in a perfectly controlled and calculated way, after all.) He made up his mind to use his Sharingan if necessary and assured the mother that he would take care that the boy would not lose control.

Naruto could no longer watch and listen as it was now his turn to be thoroughly embarrassed: when the hyperactive kid arrived he ran towards him and embraced him and almost made him lose his balance. (Almost: Naruto was still a ninja, always on his guard.) Naruto smiled and blushed and patted the child's head.

“So you must be Naruto”, the mother said. “He spoke of you all the week. He told us that you told him that if he practised hard he'd soon be better than everyone else.”

Naruto was not sure whether these had really been his words, and if they were, he was no longer proud of them, now that he was in love with Sasuke and should get rid of his jealousy. 

“It will take some time, probably”, he said. “He'll definitely have to practise a lot.”

“Oh, he did”, the mother said. “all the time he made us hold his hand so that he could practise, or have a look and see how good he has become even at standing on one leg without any help, or doing that kick without falling over. He was getting quite a bit on our nerves.”

Naruto had no idea what to reply to this reproach.

“But both my husband and I myself are really glad that you have given him something to focus on. Before, he could not pay attention to anything for more than ten minutes. I so hope that he will find some rest and inner peace.”

“I will do what I can”, Naruto answered, not sure whether he was able to help the boy achieve this particular aim. The kid was getting restless already, pulling at Naruto's hand and trying to drag him into a corner, wanting to show him what he had learnt. Naruto felt relieved: Both the kid's embrace and the mother's praise had made him feel uncomfortable. 

The kid must have practised indeed, Naruto realized when he saw how much better he had become, and he praised him accordingly. He was cute, Naruto thought, even if he was not one of the happy and gentle kids. Sasuke joined them and praised the boy too, and Naruto felt jealous: Was it really necessary that Sasuke made it appear as if only his, Sasuke's, praise counted, and Naruto's was not enough?

The child embraced Naruto, looking proudly up at Sasuke, and Naruto ruffled his hair and also looked proudly at Sasuke: I am just as good with these small kids as you are, he thought, but I am also able to deal with Juugo's foster-brothers, contrary to you. 

Still he continued watching Sasuke and trying to imitate him. He had to be gentler with these small kids, he thought, gentler and warmer, and more like a grown-up. He remembered that Sasuke had told him that he had learnt from Itachi, so he thought of Iruka and tried to be a bit like him with the little boy. The child seemed to appreciate it, and when they had a fake fight at the end of the lesson Naruto let him win and pretended being knocked out. After the lesson when they had all bowed to Sasuke the boy chatted happily with the other kids.

Sasuke was less exhausted than after the first lesson and less overwhelmed by the kids' cuteness. He still thought them cute but it no longer hurt. What bothered him, however, and had bothered him throughout the lesson, were the mothers' compliments: 

“People are really weird here”, he said. “Karin warned me that they believe that being a ninja is all about inner harmony and being in peace with the universe and that therefore ninja are all healthy and never get sick or grow old and die, but I did not believe her, or I thought that people's beliefs only referred to medical ninjutsu, not to ninja arts in the narrower sense. They call them martial arts here, after some ancient God of war, so I thought it was obvious that they are about fighting, not about peace. Even medical ninjutsu is mainly about healing wounds received during fights. How shall I help their children find inner peace? Why don't they teach their kids about peace themselves? This place is full of peace: it should rub off on their kids.”

Naruto had first not given any attention to Sasuke's words, as his own heart had still been with the hyperactive kid, but then he had remembered his last encounter with Nagato.

“People may have a point”, he said. “They may know more about ninjutsu than we do. Jiraiya – well, not Jiraiya but the guy who attacked Konoha and who was a student of Jiraiya too – told me about it: Originally, ninjutsu was not a set of techniques used for fighting. Originally it was a religion, and it was all about peace. Only later its character changed and it became a technique to gain power and fight other people. I have no idea when or how this change occured.”

Sasuke listened attentively as Naruto proceeded to tell him about the Sage of the Six Paths and of his own Sennin training. “It really helped me find some inner quiet and connect myself with nature's energy”, he said.

“But then you used it to fight off the aggressor and defend Konoha”, Sasuke said.

“Well, yes. What else should I have done? But I will find the real thing, the original religion taught by the Rikudou. I will find true, lasting peace. It's the dream I inherited from Jiraiya, my most important dream, more important than becoming Hokage.”

Sasuke grew restless. It was not that he did not like peace, but he was quite content with the peace he had found in Music Town and he certainly did not feel any inclination to extend this peace to people as Danzou. Also he feared that Naruto might forget about the promise that together they would make Danzou pay for his crimes (which could not be done in a peaceful way, Sasuke was convinced) and then install Naruto as new Hokage.

“You may begin by writing the introduction to the Gutsy Ninja”, he said.


	57. Chapter Fifty-Four: We're lovers now

There was still Sakura's letter to answer. Sasuke had read the part for Naruto too: the lines on how the Uchiha clan, including himself, had been spied on had hurt him, while both to Sakura and to Naruto the surveillance and its results had seemed rather ridiculous and absurd. What had hurt him even more were the words of Sakura's mother on the ghettoization of the Uchiha clan: As a kid he had not been aware that his family had been hated and despised. For some moments he regretted that he had told Naruto about the massacre: if he had not he could still go and take out the whole village without him.

He was having fun here in Music Town, but did this not imply that he was betraying his family? There was Naruto's promise, to be sure, but he did not really give the impression of making an effort to come up with a plan to make Danzou pay. Also, Sasuke doubted that he would manage to persuade Naruto to hold the villagers accountable for their share of the clan's sufferings.

He was not really looking forward to returning to Konoha. They'd take revenge against Danzou, and then Naruto would become Hokage while he himself would either die or live at Naruto's side, which was definitely better than living on his own while Naruto was married to Sakura. Still even the idea of living with Naruto in Konoha did not give him much joy. He could not imagine being a ninja again, fighting for the village that was responsible for his family's murder. He'd do it for Naruto's sake, but for himself it would be hell: Living with these people, meeting them every day, making smalltalk to them, smiling at them as he did with the inhabitants of Music Town. Only being with Naruto would make it bearable.

He began to write:

Dear Sakura! 

I want to thank you again for taking it upon you to search for information on the massacre of my clan.

He paused. He had intended to tell her why it was so important to him to know what people had found out about his clan, but now he had forgotten about it. His clan had been ghettoized and spied upon, this was all he really needed to know. He continued: 

Be careful though! Your mother is correct: Finding out about my mother's visits to the hairdresser is not worth the risk. What's important is first to find out whether Itachi was ordered to murder the clan...

He underlined the word ordered. He hesitated before he continued: He firmly believed that the massacre was not justified and he did not want this belief to be shaken. However he also longed for some confirmation that the clan had been innocent: 

...and whether they were really planning a coup d'etat. It's Itachi's files you need to find: He was the double agent who had all the information on the clan and passed it on to the Elders. I suspect that they are not among the reports collected by ordinary ANBU. But as I said: be careful. Don't risk your life! 

He paused again, making up his mind what he wanted to tell her about his homosexuality.

Also I want to ask you not to blame Naruto for turning me gay. I've been gay for all my life, and if anything, Naruto helped me get aware of it. I always cared more for him than for anyone else, except my family of course. We're lovers now, but even if we weren't, I'd never have married a woman.

Here he could marry Naruto, he realized. He'd have to discuss it with him. 

He returned to his letter, He wanted to end it on a friendly note, but he had difficulties finding the right words.

Thanks also for everything you do to counteract Danzou's cruel and foolish orders, protecting the population of Konoha.

He just wished that Itachi had had the same courage to disobey Danzou and rather protect his clan. 

Take care, however: Even if overstraining yourself won't kill you, as you are not sent on missions, it can still have bad effects on your health. People here believe that ninja never overstrain themselves and are always in good health. 

Warm regards, Sasuke

He put down his pen and looked at Naruto who was working on his own letter: Several crumpled and torn up sheets of paper were already lying on the table. Sasuke watched him until he was finally happy with what he had written.

“You can give it to me”, he said. “I will send it away this time.”

Naruto passed him the letter. It was not folded, which Sasuke took as permission to read it:

Dear Sakura! 

I know you will be angry for what I have to tell you. I wish it were otherwise, but it could not be helped. Sasuke's gay, and he says he's been gay for all his life. I tried to persuade him to marry you when we returned to Konoha but he would not listen. I'm sorry, but this is the truth. Anyway, I don't think I ever promised you that he would marry you, I only promised to bring him back to Konoha, and this promise I will keep. 

Love, Naruto.

Sasuke frowned. Silently he folded Naruto's letter and let it slip into the envelope that already contained his own message to Sakura. Naruto, seeing the expression of confusion and displeasure on Sasuke's face, came over to embrace and kiss him, and Sasuke gave in to his embraces and kisses, but his worries were not fully dispersed.


	58. Chapter Fifty-Five: A new movie

Usually it was Naruto who took their letters to the post office and sent them to Gaara, who would forward them via secret channels to Shikamaru's mother and then to Sakura. This time, however, Sasuke volunteered to do it, and when he had completed his errand he went to the gay community center (not shop, as Naruto had first thought) Naruto had got the movie from. They had agreed to meet there, but Sasuke was much too early: on purpose, as he wanted to have a look around by himself. His plan did not work out, however: When he entered he saw the husband of the guy from Earth Country, sitting at the counter, drinking coffee and reading some magazine. He looked up when he got aware of Sasuke.

“So you finally found your way here”, he said. “I would have expected you much earlier.” 

Sasuke froze. The man's words had reminded him of Madara and Orochimaru. He had to tell himself that the man meant well and did not have any secret plans he wanted to use him for.

“I'm here to meet Naruto”, he said. “We want to choose a new movie. One with a happy ending.”

He laid the movie he had watched with Naruto on the table. “And we want to return this one.”

The man had a look at it. “That's pretty heavy stuff. Did you like it?” 

“Naruto did. It was his choice, anyway. I myself am not sure what to think of the movie.” He was aware that when they had watched the movie his mind had been busy figuring out how to seduce Naruto so that he had not been able to do the movie justice. “I would have preferred something more light-hearted.”

The man looked surprised.

“There's been enough tragedy in my life”, Sasuke explained. 

The man got serious. “Sorry. I didn't think of it. It's just that I would have predicted you to choose a serious movie, and Naruto to prefer a light-hearted one. Won't you sit down and have a cup of coffee?”

Sasuke accepted, and the man got up and brought a second cup.

“Naruto is not all funny and cheerful”, Sasuke said when the man was back. “He can be very serious too, though he normally tries to hide it.”

“He tries to hide it from me too”, Sasuke continued. “He just doesn't succeed.” 

He took a last look at the movie. “And also, this time I want a movie with fewer women and less straight sex. And maybe some gay sex. I can't understand why they offer this to gay people.”

“It's actually a movie for a straight audience”, the man said. “Its aim is to make them empathize with gay people. It can't shock them with gay sex.

Sasuke had not thought of this possibility. 

“But of course there's also movies for gay people. I am just surprised that you have time for watching movies these days. I would have thought you otherwise occupied.”

Sasuke thought a bit: First to figure out what the man was hinting at, then to come up with a suitable answer.

“We are ninja, but still we sometimes need a break”, he said, smiling and taking a sip of coffee. The man smiled back. 

“Seems that having sex with Naruto does you well”, the man said. “You've definitely loosened up.”

Sasuke blushed. The idea of loosening up held some associations he did not want to think of at the moment. 

“We are not having real sex, however”, he said.

“Not? But you can't keep your hands off each other when you think that no one is looking. So what are you doing when you're among yourselves?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Hand-hobs, blow-jobs.”

“You enjoy it?”

“Sure.”

“And if that's not real sex, then what, in your opinion, is real sex?”

“Fucking. Anal sex, I mean.” Sasuke blushed again.

The man got up and brought some cables that normally connected the loudspeakers to the Hi-Fi system of the shop. “This is a male connector, this a female one”, he said, inserting the one into the other. Sasuke found this rather obscene. “We are people, not electrical devices. There's no right way to have sex, you just do what you enjoy. Of course, if a man and a woman want a child, there is certain things they have to do, but that's not our concern. We just have fun.”

Not being able to produce a child was still among the points that bothered Sasuke about being gay.

“Naruto will want it”, he said. “He's straight, he'll want to have his dick inside something.”

There had been some clear signs lately: Naruto had extended his caresses to the area around Sasuke's anus. It felt nice, actually, but it would have felt nicer if it did not make Sasuke realize that Naruto desired something that he, Sasuke was not yet ready to give.

“Naruto is with you, isn't he?” the man said. “What makes you think he's straight?” 

“He was straight before he realized I liked him”, Sasuke said. “There's still the girl in Konoha.”

“I remember: the one he wanted you to marry”, the man said. 

“Yes”, Sasuke answered, thinking of Naruto's letter to Sakura.

“So that's why he was always holding your hand or laying his arm around you practically from the moment the two of you joined the dance school. We were all rather confused when we learnt that he insisted on being straight.”

Sasuke thought about it. “Well, he's always been rather possessive”, he said. “I can't blame him. We've been separated for years when we were kids, and he wants to make sure that it won't happen again. We were friends as kids, but it was not about love, at least not for him. I thought him cute even then, but Naruto's attachment to me had nothing to do with sex.”

“But that's normal when you're kids. You may have a crush on someone, but normally you don't think of sex.”

Sasuke considered it. Actually he had not thought of sex with Naruto before he had watched Kabuto and Orochimaru, and then he had been ashamed of his fantasies. It had got worse when he had met Naruto in Orochimaru's lair and was able to dream of him as a young man, not a child, though Naruto's eyes had always remained the same, trusting, warm and innocent.

“Naruto had a crush on the girl of our team, not on me”, he said. “I was just his friend. Well, not just his friend. It was more complicated than that. We both risked our lives to save each other, you know. But he definitely did not have a crush on me.”

The man had grown silent. Sasuke realized that having to save each other's life was not an aspect of love or friendship he was familiar with.

“But he has sex with you now, doesn't he, and he even wants to go beyond what you are doing at the moment.”

Sasuke thought about it. “He wants to keep me with him and he's figured out that having sex with me is the best way to ensure this.”

“But you enjoy it, don't you?” 

“Yes.”

“And he enjoys it too?” 

“I think so. I do my best.”

“He's lucky that you're gay. Otherwise, with you married to this girl in Konoha, he would not be able to have any sex at all.”

Sasuke did not answer.

“Anyway, it's not just straight men who enjoy having their dick inside someone. Gay men enjoy it too.”

Sasuke still did not answer.. 

“Maybe you can persuade Naruto to let you have a try.”

“I would not want to do this to him”, Sasuke broke his silence. 

It was not the whole truth: When he watched Naruto from behind as he stood naked at the sink, preparing some tea, or when Naruto was lying on his belly and Sasuke was massaging his back and caressing his ass, or when he was sitting between Naruto's legs giving him a blow job, he could not help wondering how it might be like to be inside Naruto.

“He may enjoy it”, the man said. “It's enjoyable if you do it the right way.”

Again Sasuke did not answer.

“Well, it's up to you to decide. You and Naruto, I mean. I won't bother you again.”


	59. Chapter Fifty-Six: Not all powerful

The man got up to prepare some more coffee. “How's life going?” he asked when he returned. “Apart from the fact that you and Naruto are lovers now. How are you getting along in Music Town? Did you already encounter something that's weird and confusing, or are you adapting smoothly?”

“We are adapting well”, Sasuke said. “It's a much better place than Konoha. I like it here.”

“The situation in Konoha won't always be as bad as it's now. Danzou won't be Hokage forever.”

“We'll see to it.”

“Yes, I forgot.”

The man still did not take his and Naruto's plans seriously. 

“Is it not difficult to adjust, coming from such a different culture?” 

Sasuke shrugged. “We are ninja. We observe and learn to fit in, so that as perceived insiders we are even better able to observe people. We are doing quite well, I think, even though sometimes people here are really weird.”

“In which way?” 

“Life is so much easier for them, but they don't seem to realize. They take everything seriously, even if it's just a trifle.”

“Sure we take things seriously”, the man said. “It's our life. We take our lives seriously.”

“People mean well though. They try to be friendly, even though our way of life is far removed from theirs, and they cannot grasp the difference.”

“What do you mean?” 

The first example that came to Sasuke's mind was how he and Naruto had been made to fight and risk their lives at an age when in Music Town they would still have been considered children. For people here, fighting was just a game, nothing real. Death was not real.

“It's how people react when they hear that both my parents died when I was still a child. They are always very shocked, and then they say something completely inappropriate.”

“Do we? What did I say?”

“You said that I probably wished that I was one of those young people who got turned out by their parents for being gay.”

“Well, yes...” The man looked into his cup of coffee. “I guess it's because a loss as yours is so horrible that it is not possible to find words that would do it justice. So one just says something and hopes it's not too bad.”

“It's okay”, Sasuke said, smiling, content that he had gained the upper hand in this conversation now. “I know you mean well. You are just not used to horrible events as these. In Konoha, with its war orphans, people are. But they are not better than people here. People in Konoha -” He sought for words while taking another sip of coffee. His sorrow had turned up again, including the familiar feeling of falling into an abyss, yet he managed to keep it at bay: There was the table in front of him, there was his cup of coffee, there were the racks with calendars of naked guys, there was the man sitting opposite to him, listening intently and doing his best to be compassionate in spite of the inadequacy of his words. All that surrounded him reached out to hold him and prevent him from falling, while in Konoha things and people had withdrawn, letting him fall deeper and deeper. 

“People in Konoha would tell me that I have to be brave now and that it was my duty now to hold up the honour of my clan. In Konoha with its casualties from wars and missions, orphans are normal, and they are expected to deal with it, Only that I was neither a war orphan not did my parents get killed during a mission.”

The man looked expectantly at Sasuke.

“My parents got murdered.”

“Murdered! I always took it for granted that they got killed in an accident.”

“We are ninja”, Sasuke said, indignantly. “We don't die in accidents.”

“Sorry, I forgot. Being murdered is really much worse.” 

The man was still shaken and did not talk for half a minute. “How did it come to this?” he asked when he could speak again.

“The administration of Konoha ordered their assassination.”

Sasuke watched how the shock on the man's face deepened. In some perverted way he enjoyed this.

“Now I understand why you don't care about returning”, the man said after some time. 

He was doing it again, Sasuke thought, talking in a way that's completely inadequate because he cannot express his true feelings.

“It was my own brother who performed the murder because no one else would have been strong enough”, he said.

He watched the man gasp for air. 

“They forced him to kill his own family? I know that you have a different culture in the ninja countries, with different moral standards, but that's not about culture, is it? Even ninja know that one must not kill one's own family, don't they?”

“Yes, normally”, Sasuke answered. 

“How old was your brother then?”

“Thirteen.”

A mere child, according to the standards of Music Town. “He was one of the most talented ninja of his time. He had the power to do it.”

“But not the wisdom or strength of character to refuse...”

Sasuke felt offended that the man talked in a derogatory way of his brother.

“Thirteen!” the man continued. “How can one make a child of thirteen turn against his own family? He must have taken permanent damage from it.”

“He had to leave Konoha and eventually he died.”

Sasuke did not consider it necessary to tell the man that Itachi had died in the course of a fight against himself. He had not killed him, had he?

“And no one asked any questions when a thirteen-year-old killed his own family? Children don't do this out of the blue normally.”

Sasuke shrugged. He enjoyed the conversation, shocking the man with the horrors that had determined his life, but also, on a deeper level, he was glad that the man felt horror and disgust where this was appropriate, confirming Sasuke's judgement.

People here are different, he thought. People here know what's good and normal, and therefore they also know what is not.

“My brother was called crazy”, he said. “They pretended that he had turned megalomaniac. He himself acted the part when he talked to me after the massacre. It occasionally happens with extraordinarily talented ninja that they turn crazy, and it was just bad luck for my family that it happened to one of theirs. There was not much compassion for me, or those who had been murdered. I guess people thought that we deserved it, as we've always been the strongest clan of Konoha, and we were always feared and envied for this. We've even been ghettoized. I grew up in a tiny section of the village which I only left to go to school. I did not notice the discrimination, however, I thought that every clan was confined to its compound.”

The man listened. The news that the clan had been ghettoized had shocked him just as much as the news that they had been murdered, yet the nature of this shock was different. There was no open horror but more nervousness and awkwardness with what Sasuke had told him, and Sasuke thought that he could watch the man processing his words.

“What was the official reason for the ghettoization”, the man asked when he had finished thinking.

“There were rumours that they were responsible for the kyuubi's attack against Konoha”, Sasuke answered. “People agreed that it was necessary to have an eye on them.”

The man listened intently. Sasuke grew nervous.

“You don't ghettoize people in order to spy on them”, the man said. “On the contrary: Ghettoizing people makes spying more difficult. To spy on a group of people you have to infiltrate them and to mix with them. If people are ghettoized they know who's one of them and who's not, and they will distrust any outsider. The only way to effectively spy on them is to turn one of them into a traitor, and that's not easy, because he sees the injustice his people suffer from, suffering from it himself.”

“They managed to persuade my brother to betray the clan”, Sasuke said. 

“Sorry, I forgot. What did they promise him?” 

“Nothing. He spent the rest of his life in misery.”

“Then why did he follow their orders?” 

“They told him that he had to do it in order to prevent another possible ninja world war.”

“Oh, sure”, the man said, sounding as if this was completely absurd. “There are a lot of ways to prevent a war. Making a child kill his own family, however, is not one I've heard about before.”

“He was told that our family was planning a coup d'etat. They'd cast Konoha into a civil war, weakening it considerately, and then all the other ninja nations would attack it.”

“Why should they? They don't attack now, even though it's been considerably weakened first from Pain's attack and then from the way Danzou prevents it from recovering. People in other countries still remember the last war, they don't want a new one. And also, a successful coup d'etat would not necessarily have weakened Konoha. Normally it's when the defeated party calls a foreign power to help them that you either get a civil war or an occupation. So this is what you and Naruto will have to avoid too: Don't get any foreign help, but make sure that your opponents won't be able to call for foreign help either.” 

Sasuke wondered whether it was the danger of weakening Konoha that had kept Naruto from coming up with a feasible plan. He himself did not care very much about it, of course.

“And then of course, having the conspirators murdered by their own child is not the normal method to prevent a coup d'etat. The normal method is to arrest the conspirators and make public whatever evidence you have. Normally a plan to overthrow a regime is obsolete the moment it's discovered, as then it's very easy to take counter-measures. You don't even have to kill the perpetrators, though of course it's necessary to put them on trial.”

“This may be true for ordinary people”, Sasuke replied. “But we are ninja. My family were extraordinarily strong ninja. They would not have let themselves be arrested by some ordinary ninja.”

The man looked incredulous. Sasuke realized that he had actually defended the administration of Konoha.

“Still they were not all powerful, were they. How were they supposed to organize a coup d'etat anyway? They were ghettoized: they did not have any support among the population.”

“They were still in charge of the military police. They would have been strong enough to scare everyone.”

Somehow Sasuke did not like the idea of his family being weak and powerless. 

“Still there would have been many ways to prevent a coup d'etat, apart from making a child kill his own family – if they were planning a coup d'etat at all.”

Sasuke tried to follow the man's words. He was convinced that the massacre had not been justified, no matter whether his family had been planning a coup d'etat (and the man had confirmed his judgement, had he not), but also, somehow he hoped that they had been innocent, and he tried to figure out the man's position on that question. He had difficulties to keep a clear mind however. 

“It all seems very suspicious to me: Ghettoizing a whole family, and then forcing one of their own kids to murder them, but never standing up to it and telling the population that they have been saved from a great danger, or providing any evidence. Normally governments are proud of such an achievement. They want to show the rest of the population what they did for them, and they want to show them that if they plan anything similar they will be caught, but that those who are loyal don't have to fear anything.”

Sasuke tried to make sense of this words. It was not the way of ninja, he thought, who loved doing things in secret.

“I told you that it does not make sense to ghettoize people in order to spy on them: It makes sense however to ghettoize them if you plan to kill them. They are already assembled and clearly separated from the rest of the population, there's only a limited number of exits – it's all much easier than seeking them out one by one among the general population, giving them a lot of time to hide and escape, and if the ghettoization has gone on for some years, they will also have lost their connections to people outside the ghetto who might help them. Most frequently of course people have often been ghettoized in order to discriminate against them and to keep them poor and powerless and cut off from information and education. But not to spy on them.” 

Sasuke had not yet thought about the possibility that the administration of Konoha had intended to kill the clan from the moment they were ghettoized – that he had lived under a permanent threat of death for all his life. He had only sensed that something was wrong from Itachi's entry to ANBU, when the administration's plans had become concrete. 

“Your family was not he first that was murdered on the ground of some dubious accusations, nor will it be the last. You don't know anything about history, do you?”

Sasuke shook his head. He was feeling dizzy suddenly, so that he had to grab the table in front of him to avoid falling into the abyss that opened to devour him: He and his people had been intended to die even before they had become guilty of anything, even a supposed coup d'etat. They had been intended to die because they were too strong and therefore unpopular, or for some other irrational reason. Those who had planed their murder had followed some well-known pattern. He had managed to stay away from the abyss, focussing instead on his attempts to seduce Naruto, but now it was right in front of him, pulling him in: he had no right to live, just as the rest of the clan. Thinking of his revenge no longer helped to get out of the abyss, as he had delegated the task to Naruto now. Holding fast to his cup of coffee that so clearly belonged to Music Town and had nothing to do with being a ninja was everything he could do now. 

The man got up to prepare another pot of coffee. As he passed Sasuke had laid his hand on his shoulder.

“I don't want to hurt you”, he said. “That other people got murdered too does not diminish the wrong that was done to you and your family. Still you should do some reading to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms behind your family's murder.”

“It won't make me reconsider my judgement”, Sasuke replied, laying his hand on the man's and holding it fast.

“No. But you'll better know who, or what, is responsible for it.”

Sasuke let go, and the man left to actually prepare the coffee. 

“What about you?” he asked when he returned. “Konoha is targeting you too, I assume.”

“Yes, sure. They've done so since I left the village.”

“It would be a good idea to get some official status. Apply to be accepted as a political refugee. Being gay would be sufficient, normally. Being a talented dancer would be sufficient too. But if you can claim that the government of Konoha is responsible for the murder of your family, and that you are on their death list too, you will certainly be granted the status of a refugee.”

Sasuke considered it.

“It would mean to make public who I am and where I am.”

“Only who you are. The administration won't tell Danzou about your abode.” 

“They won't accept me: I'm a deserter and a rogue-nin: a criminal according to the rules of ninja.”

“Not according to our rules. We don't consider it legitimate to recruit children as soldiers and then hunt them down when they try to escape. We defy these rules: You will be safe here. Just get official status as a refugee.”

He would no longer be a fugitive, Sasuke thought. Or still a fugitive, but one who had found safety. He could stop running. Well, he had stopped running since his arrival in Music Town, but he was still on the alert. If he was officially accepted he would have found a place to stay.

“What if Danzou sends for me?” he asked.

“The government will deny this request.”

“This is Music Town. And it's Konoha you're facing, the strongest of the ninja villages. What if he threatens to attack Music Town in order to take us by force?” 

“He won't. We're not helpless. Music Town is protected by a complicated system of treaties, ensuring that if any of the ninja nations attacks us the others will come to our aid. And they will: Music Town is the richest place of the continent. None of the ninja nations will allow us to fall into the hands of one of its rivals, least of all those of Danzou. He's not very popular. All the other ninja villages are acting against him, going as far as they can without risking an open war.”

Sasuke thought about it. “Naruto, when he's Hokage, will renew the peace treaties.”

“Oh, yes, sure”, the man said, sounding a bit irritated. “Anyway, there are lots of deserters nowadays. They are no longer hunted down, but they are accepted as refugees. They have to take up a civilian occupation and are no longer allowed to work as ninja, but else they are left alone. Konoha is weakened by these desertions even worse than by its losses on risky missions.”

Sasuke had neglected the newspapers recently as he had been busy making love, so he was not informed about these latest developments.

“Danzou's not all powerful. He's actually rather weak, and if it were not for the kyuubi no one would take him seriously. You've heard about it, haven't you? It, or rather he, the jinchuuriki, is said to be hidden away in one of Danzou's dungeons and everyone fears that Danzou will let it loose if he feels threatened.”

Sasuke leant back, smiling.

“He won't.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Danzou won't let loose the kyuubi. Naruto's the jinchuuriki.”

The man was speechless. Sasuke enjoyed it.

“Don't worry. We can control it. I'm Uchiha Sasuke, you know.” 

The man seemed completely unimpressed. It made sense: If he had ever heard the name Uchiha he would have heard of the massacre too.

“I have wondered for some time why Naruto has left Konoha”, the man said. “With you it was obvious, or so I thought: You had left because you were gay. But Naruto made such a fuss about not being gay that he must have had another reason. In the end I came to the conclusion that he had accompanied you as your friend. But now it's clear why he fled.”

He thought a bit more. “You don't intend to use the kyuubi to turn Danzou out of office, do you?”

“We don't”, Sasuke answered. The idea was tempting, though: he should tell Naruto about it. “Naruto wants to be Hokage of something”, he said. “And also, it's too risky for him. We can control the kyuubi, but only as long as it's safely confined within Naruto.” Somehow he was glad that caring for Naruto was an excuse for not using the kyuubi. For all his outward confidence the idea of actually having to use the kyuubi was scary to him.

“That's a wise decision. The damage caused by the kyuubi would be worse than anything Danzou could do.”

As if I cared, Sasuke thought. He cared for Naruto, though.

The man got serious again, leaning back and looking at Sasuke as if from far away. “I'm sorry”, he said. “This is all pretty much beyond the usual range of my experience. I have no idea what it means to get between the millstones of history. But I'll do my best to help you. Both of you, I mean.”

Not with removing Danzou from office, nor with accomplishing my revenge, Sasuke suspected. 

“Whatever I can do to support you to build a new life here, both for yourself and Naruto, I will do”, the man continued. “But you should really apply for official status as a refugee. You can't live here without it. You can exist, but you cannot live. Naruto too. You'll be granted it easily: No one's interested in Danzou having access to the kyuubi.”

“I'll think about it”, Sasuke said, feeling a bit overwhelmed, not only by the man's offer and the way he was pushing him to make his stay in Music Town official, but also by his analysis of the political situation.

The man got up to make some more coffee, and again he casually patted Sasuke's shoulder in passing him. 

“I know you've been through a lot”, he said. “But it's over now. Just allow yourself to accept some help.”


	60. Chapter Fifty-Seven: No need for comfort

Naruto had entered just in time to see the man's hands on Sasuke's shoulders. He stood in the doorway, watching Sasuke who in his turn was following the man with his eyes. He only noticed Naruto when he was standing next to him, now his hands around Sasuke's shoulders. He took Naruto's hands and laid them on his chest, accepting his claim. He did not have to look at Naruto to know his expression, and if he had not guessed it by himself, the man's reaction would have been a sufficient clue.

“I was just comforting him”, he said, somewhat nervous. “He told me that his family got murdered. I don't have any other intentions.”

Naruto caressed Sasuke's hands that were still pressing his own against Sasuke's chest. “You don't need to comfort him”, he said. “I do it.”

Sasuke was annoyed at both of them. He did not like being comforted as it made him feel weak. Still he was aware that Naruto had comforted him more than once during their stay in Music Town and that Naruto's presence had helped him to stay away from the abyss, just as reminding himself that he was in Music Town helped to stay away. If only he did not have a bad conscience towards his parents, still failing to avenge them. 

“Anyway, why did you tell a stranger about this?” Naruto asked.

“I've told you too”, Sasuke replied. 

He felt Naruto freeze and realized that he had hurt him. He held his hands firmly in his grip.

“Won't you sit down and have a cup of coffee too?” the man asked.

Grudgingly Naruto accepted, but he did not let go off Sasuke. The man bought a third cup and refilled the milk jug as Naruto preferred his coffee with a lot of milk.

“He told me some weeks ago that his parents were dead”, he said when he had returned to the boys at the table. “Now he told me that they were murdered. It's nothing to be ashamed of, is it?” 

“No, it isn't”, Naruto admitted. He could not put into words why he had issues with Sasuke telling the man about his family but he knew that he didn't like it.

“We support each other in the gay community”, the man said. “A lot of us are without family, not because they are dead, but because they turned out their kids when they learnt that they were gay. We have to stand in for each other. Now it's got better for the locals but there are still lots of people from other places who've left their families behind. - What about you, by the way? Do you need any help reestablishing contact with them? We have quite a bit of experience talking to parents and explaining to them that there's nothing wrong with being gay. Normally they are relieved to have their sons back.”

Sasuke got nervous, but he was also glad that the discussion was no longer about him.

“My parents would not have minded”, Naruto said. “They would have been happy for me that I have found someone I love and who loves me back.”

The man looked irritated. “So your parents are dead too?” he asked. Naruto nodded silently. The man turned his eyes from him to Sasuke and back to Naruto again: He must think it a weird coincidence, Sasuke thought. 

“But they weren't murdered”, the man said. 

“No”, Naruto answered. “My father, the fourth Hokage of Konoha, died when he fought and defeated the kyuubi.”

Sasuke was speechless. The man did not answer immediately either, but this was because he was doing some calculations, using his fingers and silently mumbling some numbers. 

“I've read about it”, he said. “It was one of the first political events I took notice of. You must have been very young then.” 

“It was a few days after my birth”, Naruto said. 

Again there was a silence of a few seconds. “So you've never known him”, the man said. “It must have been hard for you to grow up without your father.”

He refilled Sasuke's and his own cup, but even with this the coffee pot was not empty. He reached out to touch Naruto's hands, but this was not possible as Sasuke still held both of them. 

“I am sorry to hear it”, he said.

“I don't need to be comforted”, Naruto replied. “I am the son of the Yondaime. I can deal with it.”

The man looked irritated. “Why should being the son of the Yondaime mean that you don't need to be comforted?” 

It took Naruto some seconds to come up with an answer. “He sacrificed himself to save Konoha. I'm proud of him. I don't need any comfort.”

He had withdrawn his hands from Sasuke now. Sasuke longed to reach out to Naruto in his turn, but he didn't dare.

“What about your mother?” the man asked. “Did she die during the kyuubi's attack too?”

This time Naruto took even longer to answer. “I don't know”, he said. “But she died very early too.”

“You don't remember her?”

Naruto shook his head. 

“And no one talked to you about her? Like how she looked and how she was or how and when she died?”

Again Naruto shook his head. Sasuke felt the abyss again: In the man's face, in Naruto's inability to speak. It was there, but it was not drawing him in, threatening to devour him. It did not long for him, Sasuke, personally: It just existed in the world, a source of nameless suffering.

We are in Music Town, he thought. In Music Town we are safe. He wondered whether Naruto and the man knew about the abyss too. He himself had never before felt it in connection to another person.

“But she loved me”, Naruto said. “I don't have any conscious memories of her but she definitely loved me.”

“I don't doubt it”, the man said. “I Just wonder why the people who raised you didn't tell you about her. Who were they anyway? Some relatives?”

“I lived in one of Konoha's orphanages until I was six”, Naruto explained. “then I entered the ninja academy and was considered old enough to care for myself.”

Sasuke saw the shock on the man's face. Naruto obviously saw it too.

“I know, people here consider children of twelve too young to care for themselves”, he said. “But in Konoha, standards are different. We are considered grown-up from the moment we graduate from the academy.”

“And when is this normally?”

“When you're twelve”, Naruto answered.

“There's also prodigies who graduate when they are six or seven”, Sasuke added.

“You mean children who happen to be gifted at ninja arts are trained to be fighting-machines and then treated as adults, regardless of their moral or emotional development?” 

Sasuke thought of the kids he and Naruto were teaching.

“Are they sent to war too?” the man continued.

“Sure they are”, Naruto said.

“At an age when they aren't yet able to decide whether fighting and killing is justified or not?” 

“We fight to protect our friends”, Naruto said. “You don't have to be particularly wise or grown-up for this.”

It had not been that easy for Itachi, Sasuke thought, but he did not mention it as he saw that Naruto was in an agitated state as always when Konoha was criticized. The man also understood that he should not push the issue any further.

“Did you not have any relatives who might have taken you in?” he returned to his previous subject. “Or some friends of your parents?” 

“Jiraiya accepted me as his student”, Naruto said. “But this was only after I graduated from the academy. He would not have been fit to raise a small child anyway, so I don't mind.”

“Jiraiya?” the man asked. “Not the Jiraiya who wrote the Icha-Icha series?” 

“Yes, that's the one. What's wrong with Icha-Icha?” 

“It's rather boring.”

 

“Well, yes, it is”, Naruto admitted.

“And it's cheesy. Men are always perfect and even if they're a bit rough it's just to show that they're real men, and if they are pressing the woman to have sex it's just because they know her real desire. Women are kind and gentle, and even if they're too weak to fight they are ready to sacrifice their life for the man they love. You read the first pages and you know who's going to end up with whom.”

“Well, yes, it's true”, Naruto admitted again.

“And then it's all straight. The sex scenes simply don't do anything for me.”

Naruto thought that the same was true for him, but he did not say it aloud. 

“What would he have said if he had known that you had turned out gay?” the man asked.

Naruto thought about it for a few seconds before he answered. “He never thought it a good idea that I remained true to Sasuke even before we became lovers”, he said. “He said I was a fool that I continued to believe in him. But now I proved him wrong: I managed to save my friend.”

The man looked confused, and Sasuke felt annoyed. He would have to talk to Naruto about his interpretation of their relationship, and also about how he discussed it in front of strangers.

He was busy getting accustomed to the idea that Naruto was the son of the Yondaime. He had always thought of him as one of the nameless war orphans that had been stranded in Konoha, given some random family name as no one knew about his real family. He had liked him all the same, and later he had learnt to appreciate him as a friend and teammate, and been happy for him when he had grown stronger and more confident, but he had also liked to think of his, the Uchiha's glamour rubbing off on Naruto as he accepted him as a friend. He would have to get accustomed to the idea that Naruto did not need any of his glamour. 

The Yondaime had always been Naruto's idol and role model, he thought, both for defeating the kyuubi and for sacrificing himself for the sake of the village. Naruto must have been glad to discover that he was his son. Sasuke was happy for his sake, but the Yondaime's sacrifice reminded him of Itachi's, and he simply could not bring himself to admire a person who had saved the village he, Sasuke, hated, even sacrificing his life for them, even though rationally he knew that the Yondaime's sacrifice was very different from Itachi's: Not only had he not been manipulated into it but also he had not sacificed anyone else. 

“Naruto”, he said, “do you mean that the Yondaime, who sealed the kyuubi into you, was your father?” 

“Yes, sure, why not?” 

“You mean that the Yondaime sealed the kyuubi into his own child?” 

“Yes. Would it have been preferable if he had sealed it into a random orphan?” 

Sasuke did not have any answer to this. The man from Music Town however had.

“It would have been preferable if it had not been sealed into any infant at all”, he said. “I mean, it's pretty risky, and a pretty severe intervention into a person's life. Everything you do and everything you become will be influenced by the fact that you're a jinchuuriki.”

“I am still myself”, Naruto said.

“Sure you are. Still, with the kyuubi inside you it was impossible for you to grow up as a normal child. Your fate was predetermined when you were only a few days old: You'd be the jinchuuriki, your village's ultimate weapon.”

“I don't mind being the junchuuriki. Protecting my village has always been my first priority, and it still is, even if now I have to protect it against Danzou, who is destroying it from within.”

The man looked confused. “You don't plan to use the kyuubi against Danzou, do you?” he, and contrary to Sasuke Naruto did not refute the idea immediately.

“No, I won't”, he finally said. “I can't yet completely control it, so it would be too risky. The Yondaime, my father, meant for me to control it. He knew I would manage. Otherwise he would not have sealed the kyuubi into me.”

“The Yondaime knew you would be able to control the kyuubi? Did you not tell me that you were only a few days old when the kyuubi got sealed into you?” 

“Yes, that's true. Why is this important?” 

“How could he tell that one day you would be able to control the kyuubi if you were only a few days old?” 

“Why not?” 

“Have you ever seen a child of a few days? They're all tiny, and it's not possible at all to tell what will become of them.”

“With me it was: Ninja can sense their children's talents.”

It was not true, Sasuke thought. For a long time no one would have believed Naruto to be a gifted ninja.

The man took out his purse and began to search it. After some time he produced several photos.

“That's my nephew”, he said. “That's how children of that age look like.”

One photo showed the little boy sleeping in his mother's arms, the other in the arms of his uncle, gripping his finger. Not much was visible, just a face between a lot of clothes and a very tiny hand, complete with even tinier fingernails, the fingers barely long enough to go around the man's index finger.

“Is he not cute?” 

Sasuke thought he wasn't. His eyes were pressed together, his face was red and crumpled and he had no hair.

“And look how firm his grip is. And here” - he produced another photo that only showed the kid's face - “is he not all attentive as if he understands everything that's being said?” 

Sasuke just hoped that the Yondaime had been more rational about Naruto than this man was about his nephew.

“He'll certainly be a fine lad”, he said, realizing he had to say something polite. He remembered that he planned to have some kids of his own: his kids would be cute from the first moment. He'd have to discuss it with Naruto. He passed him the photos, wondering what he would think about the little boy, but Naruto did not say anything.

“How is it possible to seal a monster in such a tiny child?” the man asked. 

“I'm not a monster”, Naruto said. “And I don't mind having the kyuubi within me. I'm the son of the Yondaime. I can deal with it.”

He was all shut off now, Sasuke realized. He regretted that he had brought up the question how the Yondaime could have sealed the kyuubi into his own child. “Don't worry”, he said, taking Naruto's hand. “I'll help you with the kyuubi. It won't get out of control.”

“I'll manage”, Naruto answered, withdrawing his hand. “Let's find us a new movie. One with a happy ending.”

There was a silence of a few seconds. Neither of them was able to return to normal immediately, as Naruto would have wanted. 

“And a movie without any stupid women”, Sasuke finally said, breaking the silence.

“Tell me if you need some advice”, the man said. 

“We will”, Sasuke answered, understanding that he could not turn down all the man's offers. He took Naruto's hand and this time Naruto accepted it.

They got up, and the man followed them with his eyes as they vanished into the shop. For some time he listened to them as Naruto showed Sasuke the condoms and sex toys, the latter of them being dismissed by Sasuke as weird, and then discussed the movies on display. When they returned they did not only bring a movie but also some advice books on gay sex.

“Naruto needs them. I don't”, Sasuke declared when they laid them on the counter.

“I don't have any Sharingan that I might have used on Kabuto and Orochimaru”, Naruto replied. Sasuke gave him an ellbow check.

“What's a Sharingan?” the man asked.

“He can use it to learn just by watching”, Naruto said. “Unlike us mere mortals who have to practice.”

“So this is why you wanted a movie with some gay sex”, the man said. 

“It doesn't work with TV”, Sasuke replied coldly. “The chakra flow does not show on the screen. - But people here are really weird. Why do you need books to learn about sex?Even Naruto is doing quite fine working things out as we go along.”

The man took some time to come up with an answer.

“Most of us learn from more experienced partners”, he said. “I guess there's a lot of men who would like to teach you.”

“We prefer books, actually”, Naruto said, laying his arm around Sasuke.

The man had a look at the books they had chosen. They had titles as “Sex tipps for advanced learners” or “How to be a perfect lover” or “Sex like a professional”. He took up the last one and looked at the two boys. Naruto blushed, Sasuke appeared unmoved. 

“Go back and get a book about the basics”, he told them.

Now Sasuke looked embarrassed too. Still they obeyed and went back to the store, returning with more books.

“I'll lock up the cafe for you”, the man said. “There you can have a look inside before you make up your mind.”

They followed him to the cafe and immediately chose the low sofa, leaning heavily against each other while looking into the books. The man left them and made some more coffee, black for Sasuke and fifty-fifty mixed with milk for Naruto. He thought how they had turned into teenagers again, fortunately, no longer the gaming pieces of history. He brought them the coffee: Now they had abandoned the books and were sitting in close embrace, kissing each other, their jackets lying on their laps, concealing what they were doing with their hands. The man put the coffee on the table in front of them and left on tiptoes.


	61. Chapter Fifty-Eight: Books

In the end they choose a book titled “Sex book for boys – be gay and have fun”. The advice it gave seemed more realistic than the one they got from the books for advanced learners, and also, it contained some tips for coming out that might come handy when dealing with the locals and judging what to do and what not to do. 

Still the books for advanced learners had contained some interesting photos, and had given them a good laugh. Sasuke rarely laughed, but he smiled when Naruto laughed, and he snuggled to Naruto when he laid his arm around his shoulders as they looked at the pictures of guys in handcuffs: this was definitely not what they wanted. (You needed your hands for sex, didn't you? they thought.) 

They spent more time looking at pictures of men simply kissing each other or having oral sex as they themselves did, or intimately entangled during anal sex. Sasuke was glad that Naruto seemed to enjoy these pictures: obviously he had come to like the sight of naked men in general. He was also glad about the advice for anal sex they had found in some of the books: If you ride your partner you can remain in control. Naruto was not so glad about the advice, but Sasuke did not care: It was Naruto who was urging him to have anal sex, not the other way round, so he would have to give in.

With the advice from the books that made anal sex appear much more normal, much les spectacular and much more an act of trust than of submission, as Sasuke had observed it between Kabuto and Orochimaru, he began to accustom himself to this idea. When they kissed intensely with Naruto's tongue in his mouth or his tongue in Naruto's mouth, and one of each of their legs between the other's, he began to imagine it, longing to be completely connected to Naruto, and the idea of having Naruto inside him was no longer scary. He also allowed Naruto to insert a finger, which turned out not to be painful, or even two, which was difficult, but possible with a lot of lube. Naruto used it in generous amounts: Soon the small bottle that had come with the Valentine kit was empty.

“Don't worry: They sell the stuff at drugstores”, Naruto said, and next time when he returned from some grocery shopping he brought a one liter bottle. “Family storage size” was written on the label. 

He blushed when Sasuke found it in the shopping bag. “It's the same brand, and it's cheaper”, he said apologetically.

Sasuke looked at the bottle: It fitted Naruto's personality, he thought, direct and pragmatic, even more than the Valentine kit he had given him. He put the bottle on the table and embraced him: “It's a promise!” he whispered in Naruto's ear. 

Naruto's smile lit up his face. He felt loved and accepted, including his desire to have sex. Sakura had always hated him for it, he thought. Sasuke did not mind it, he seemed to appreciate it. Of course Naruto did his best to make sex enjoyable for Sasuke, being very tender and caring. He loved every bit of him and desired to caress him everywhere, even from inside, and he was curious how it might be for his cock to be within Sasuke, surrounded by him. (His fingers liked it.) 

He loved to watch Sasuke relax, he loved to watch him during orgasm. He felt very protective then, him being the one who gave him pleasure and the one who watched over him when he lost control. Soon after Sasuke had allowed him to insert his fingers he had found his prostate, and they were both surprised to see how quickly Sasuke lost control and came. Naruto made a game of it, enjoying the reliability of Sasuke's orgasms when caressed in this way, until Sasuke told him to stop it: He wanted to last longer and to have some control over his own orgasms (even though he knew that ultimately they were beyond control.)

From then on Naruto avoided the prostrate until Sasuke gave him permission, and also they returned to having oral sex and giving hand-jobs. They also devoted more time to Naruto's pleasure again, mostly because Sasuke insisted on it. Naruto was more aware of the kyuubi now and of the fact that he could not allow himself to lose control. Maybe it was that talking about it to a stranger had turned it more active, and waking it regularly while having sex did not help either. Naruto could not help feeling bitter about it, though he tried to subdue it.

Sasuke saw through his attempts to hide his bitterness and tried to comfort him, but none of his words gave Naruto any consolation, so that after some futile attempts he confined himself to laying his arms around Naruto's shoulders and caressing his hand.

(The problem was partly that Sasuke's words were always the same: Don't worry about the kyuubi, I can control it.)

The kyuubi was also the reason why Naruto did not allow Sasuke to caress his own anus, not to speak of inserting a finger. Even lying on Sasuke's lap, with Sasuke caressing his face, playing with his hair and then letting his hands wander over Naruto's body, was a challenge to Naruto: Not only because he loved being active as Sasuke suspected but also because the kyuubi got nervous when Naruto delivered himself to another person. It did not trust Sasuke as Naruto did. 

Sasuke felt annoyed by Naruto's refusal to allow him to enter him with a finger. He suspected that the kyuubi served as an excuse for not having to be the passive partner when eventually they would have anal sex. He would have felt much more comfortable with the idea of being the passive partner if afterwards they would have changed roles, but Naruto had set a boundary that he could not cross. He could not even check whether it was really the kyuubi and what exactly it did to Naruto as Naruto refused to allow him to use his Sharingan on him.

Slowly he admitted to himself that there was no solution to the problem of the kyuubi and that if he wanted them to connect in that most intimate way allegedly presented by anal sex he had to accept to be the passive partner. It was not that bad, he thought. Naruto had never watched Kabuto and Orochimaru. He had never fought off images of doing exactly the same as they did, he'd make love to him in a way that would not at all be influenced by these two. He would not use him for his own pleasure, he would be gentle and caring.

He turned his mind to other matters, as getting some books about world history, as the husband of the guy from Earth Country had advised him. He had given him some titles, and Sasuke had already found the books in the central book store, but as he deemed them too expensive he decided for an excursion to the municipal library. He asked Naruto to join him. 

“You can get some books about the Rikudou Sennin and his religion, Ninshuu. I am sure they have information about how it was turned from a religion that promoted peace and salvation to ninjutsu, a collection of techniques used for fighting.”

Naruto agreed, and so they went for the library. The building looked quite impressive with its huge pillars, but the people who entered or left were ordinary people, and Sasuke had got better at dealing with the locals since his arrival, hadn't he? He entered with Naruto in tow and went straight to some desk with a big sign “information” above it and showed the woman behind it his list with titles and authors. 

The librarian had a look. “The catalogue is over there”, she said. “It's sorted alphabetically by author. You can look up the shelf mark and then find the book yourself.”

She returned to the Sudoku she had been solving when Sasuke had addressed her. He felt annoyed, even though he was pretty confident that he would be able to look up the books. (The catalogue looked a bit scary though.)

“My friend needs help too”, he said. “He's looking for a book about the Rikudou Sennin. And he's not able to look it up in the catalogue.”

The woman frowned. Naruto frowned too: He hated it when Sasuke spoke for him, just as much as Sasuke hated it when Naruto did the same to him. It worked, however: The librarian got up and led Naruto to the section on religion.

“Here's some biographies on the Rikudou”, she said. “And here you find books on Ninshuu in general.”

“Some” meant around fifteen books, and there was a whole shelf just for ninshuu. Naruto also discovered that the section on ninshuu was a subsection of a section about a larger religion ninshuu was a school of. He had never heard of this religion. 

He felt overwhelmed and confused by the sheer number of books. He took one on the Rikudou out of the shelf and had a look inside: It contained very few pictures and was printed in small print, but not only the size of the letters but the sentences themselves made the book illegible. He felt annoyed at Sasuke: Why did he think he had a right to tell him what to read? 

He put the book back onto the shelf and got another, thinner one: “Tales of the Rikudou”. He opened it: this one contained pictures, and beautiful coloured ones in the bargain, and it seemed to consist of stories. “How the Rikudou created the moon” was one of them. Naruto was glad he had found a book that was more readable than the first one, but he was also aware that it was targeted at children and that he had to find a more serious one. After some time he found one in a larger format, again one with pictures: The “Rikudou – his life, his time, his ideas”. Two books were enough, Naruto decided, and he went to search for Sasuke.

Sasuke had also found the books he had been looking for, and an additional one he was reading now. 

“History of Konoha from its foundations to the present”, Naruto managed to decipher the title on the cover. He was surprised: Sasuke never expressed any concern for Konoha, and he never commented on the news they received through Sakura's letters. Then Naruto remembered that Sasuke still collected articles on Konoha he found in the newspapers. He took an interest in Konoha, just in a different way... When Sasuke saw Naruto he looked up and smiled. 

“It's fascinating”, he said. “They have lots of it. Not only on Konoha, but on the other ninja villages as well, and also on the ninja nations as a whole. I have never seen anything like it in Konoha.”

“It's because you left before you were old enough to be interested in history, or understand such books”, Naruto replied, annoyed that Sasuke spoke badly about Konoha again.  
“They do have history books in the central book store, even though it seems you haven't noticed them.” 

“Have you ever read one?” Sasuke replied.

Naruto had never considered it. When he had visited the central book store of Konoha it had either been in order to have a look at the newest volume of Icha-Icha, or to meet Sakura. He had passed the history books on his way to the romance section looking at them only from outside: They had titles as “Konoha in the old days” and consisted mainly of pictures. During its various wars and the attack of the kyuubi Konoha had been repeatedly destroyed, and books with pictures of Konoha before the destruction were always popular as they reminded people of happier days. Naruto wondered whether they had already published some collections of photos of Konoha before Pain's attack. He himself was too young to be interested in any “happier days” , and also, the books had always given him the impression of being aimed at tourists, and definitely not the stuff he would like to read. 

“I don't need to read books on the history of Konoha”, he said. “I've learnt about it at school. History books are for strangers.”

“Oh, really”, Sasuke said. Naruto had been his classmate in the academy, he thought, so he had learnt as much or as little about the history of Konoha as he himself. “So what do you know about the foundation of Konoha?” 

Naruto shrugged. He had never thought about it. “The first Hokage founded it, I guess.”

“You guess”, Sasuke said, smiling. “Here, listen:”

Konoha was founded when the daimyou of Fire Country, who had come to great wealth by avoiding to get involved in the wars that laid waste the ninja countries at his time, decided that he had to protect his domain against his neighbours, who were looking with envy at his own thriving province. He came to the conclusion that the best way to ensure his country's wealth and safety was to engage the two leading ninja clans of the time, Senju and Uchiha. It had become custom that they were employed by opposing powers, normally resulting in more devastation and no clear victor, let alone a settlement of the original conflict.

Engaging both clans at a time seemed a bold and intimidating move, though in hindsight it is clear that the daimyou of Fire Country simply was the first who could afford to pay them. It took the clans a while to settle their own conflicts and grudges from years of rivalry, but eventually, with the help of intermediators of the daimyou, they agreed to accept financial compensation for their warriors who had been killed by the other side during their years as mercenary soldiers, and when after some time of counting and calculating it turned out that there remained a small amount of money that Senju would have to pay, Uchiha generously declined, knowing well that this remaining amount was smaller than the inaccuracy of their calculations. 

Having settled their old grudges both clans went on to found Konoha, and united they held their ground against the daimyou during negotiations and secured a far-reaching autonomy for the village, which was not what the daimyou had bargained for when he had engaged the two clans...

Sasuke stopped reading: Triumphantly he looked at Naruto, waiting for a comment. Naruto had actually not been able to follow the text, and after some time everything he heard was Uchiha Uchiha Uchiha. 

“So that's all you're interested in when you research the history of Konoha: Your own precious clan. You don't care about us ordinary villagers.”

Sasuke looked hurt. His eyes were very cold when he replied. “Since when have you been an ordinary villager? You are the son of the Yondaime, strong enough to control the kyuubi even as a newborn child.”

Naruto felt hurt too. He tried to come up with an adequate answer, but while he was still busy thinking a man from the neighbouring table came over to ask them to be silent: “This is a library after all.”


	62. Chapter Fifty-Nine: Sasuke fails again at dealing with the locals

They decided to leave and to read the books they had chosen at home. Naruto had to remind Sasuke that they needed to register the books, and Sasuke was astonished that it was possible to rent the books for free. They were told, however, that they needed a library card, so that after standing in queue for a while they had to wait again, though this time for much shorter. 

“Do you have your ID with you?” the woman behind the counter asked them.

“No”, Sasuke answered. He had no idea what an ID might be, but he was certain that he did not have one. 

“Or some other official document proving your identity?”

Sasuke got nervous: “You want me to disclose my identity before you allow me to borrow some books?”

“Well, we need your address in case you don't return the books.”

“You want me to tell you my abode too?”

“Yes, we do.”

Sasuke was thinking, searching for a solution. Naruto wondered too: Borrowing a movie had been much easier.

“What if I give you my address and keep my name secret?” Sasuke suggested. “Or if I give you some deposit as security for the book?” 

The woman looked weirder and weirder. “There isn't any problem, is there?” she asked.

“No”, Sasuke answered. He considered using a genjutsu on her, but he decided against it. 

“Are you eighteen yet?” 

“No”, he answered, this time honestly.

“Then you will also need your parents' signature. I can give you the form: just fill it out and have your parents sign it, and then return with your ID. Shall I reserve the books for you so that no one can borrow them until you return?”

“It's not necessary, thanks”, Sasuke answered, knowing he would not return.

“It's no problem, really.”

“No, thanks.”

He turned around and left, feeling very embarrassed now. Naruto followed, taking his arm. He knew that Sasuke did not cope well with a defeat as this one, all the more as it was definite: They did not have any ID. Few people knew their true identity at all, Naruto thought: The publishers of Icha-Icha did, of course, but they had no idea about Sasuke. The people at the restaurant, Juugo's fostermothers and their fellow dancers only knew their given names, except that they had now disclosed their identities to the husband of the guy from Earth Country: But he was their friend, wasn't he? He would not betray them? 

At their next training session Naruto told him of his worries, and the man assured him that he would not betray them. He laughed, however, when he heard the story of their adventures at the library. 

“Seriously, get officially accepted as refugees, then you'll get documents and may acquire a library card, too”, he told them. “Life is much easier if you don't have to hide your identity.”

The boys did not even discuss the question. Both knew that revealing who they were was too dangerous. Instead they asked Karin, who was already a naturalized citizen of Music Town to borrow for them the books they wanted to read.

They had become very close these days, spending most of their time together: Either working or in bed, or dancing or hanging out together on the lawns of Music Town. Reading meant that they spent time by themselves, taking an interest in something the other did not care about, even if they sat side by side, cuddled against each other, or lay back to back in bed. It was weird, and Naruto had to get used to being on his own while he was reading the Tales of the Rikudou. 

It was not completely true that they did not take any interest in the other's reading matter. Sasuke was curious about ninshuu and the Rikudou Sennin, both because he was a ninja himself and wanted to learn about the origins of ninjutsu and because he was curious about the Rikudou's idea of peace. He wanted to know whether the Rikudou's position had been that peace should be extended even to people as Danzou. After several months in Music Town he no longer needed his hatred to feel alive, and he rarely thought of Danzou, but if he thought of him the idea that he should be allowed to live in peace in spite of his crimes almost caused him physical pain.

Naruto, on the other hand, was very curious about the book on the history of Konoha Sasuke was reading, but he would never admit that his knowledge of the history of his village was very fragmented and that he needed to learn more. In the meantime he enjoyed the stories about the Rikudou: Overcoming monsters and demons, stopping fights between ordinary people and telling them to resolve their conflicts and become friends. 

He was wasting his time in Music Town, he thought, he should go and change the world instead. Sasuke loved him, Sasuke needed him, still making love to Sasuke could not be the purpose of his life. There was of course his promise that they would return to Konoha and make Danzou pay for his crimes, but even though he had been shocked when Sasuke had told him that Danzou was ultimately responsible for his family's death and even though he truly hated the way Danzou ruled Konoha Naruto was not very passionate about returning and making Danzou pay: It seemed such a small dream compared to his greatest ambition, creating peace. When he read the Tales of the Rikudou he dreamt of the kind of peace that even included Danzou. (He did not tell Sasuke though.)

He turned the page to read the next story, which was about how the Rikudou created the moon. Even the picture on the first page was disturbing: a creature with ten tails and only one eye. Naruto had always believed that the kyuubi within him was the demon with the highest number of tails, and the idea that there was another, worse demon, was creepy. 

He began to read: 

How the Rikudou created the Moon

The most evil demon the Rikudou ever fought was the Juubi. It lived in a small province that's since been divided between Wind Country and Fire Country, right at the heart of hte ninja countries. When it beat its tails it caused earth quakes and when it shook its fur spars fell over the country and set it in flames, and its breath itself spread pestilence. People lived in terror of it, yet the rumour went that they had created it themselves, engaging in war all the time, everyone only fighting for himself. Their greed, their hatred and their lust for power had fed the demon's chakra and even when they were suffering under its threat they did not change their ways but remained selfish, only building shelter for themselves and glad when the juubi went for their neighbours.

Still when news reached them that a holy man had appeared who was able to do miracles they agreed to send for him and ask him to fight the juubi.

The Rikudou came when he heard their call and set out to meet the demon. The Juubi, sensing that there was a new power challenging its domination of an area he considered as its own, sought him in his turn and met him half way, and when it perceived the power and the holiness of the Rikudou's eye it got angry and beat its tails and shook its fur, making the earth tremble and the trees catch fire, but the Rikudou stood his ground: He did not waver, nor did he fight to defend himself. He simply held fast to his staff, waiting until the earth quake and the fire had died down. 

“I know who you are”, he said when the Juubi took a break. “I know what you are. You are not a demon, you are just the essence of people's hatred that has grown so huge that it gained solid form. You are nothing, neither beast nor human being. You are not even an assemblage of hatred, because hatred is nothing but the absence of love. You're less than nothing.”

The Juubi roared in despair for it knew that the Rikudou's words were true, but the Rikudou stood firm, knowing that the Juubi was less than nothing and thus could not hurt him, and when the Juubi attacked he absorbed its chakra. Seven times the Juubi struck, and seven times the Rikudou did not strike back, nor did he defend himself. He incorporated the Juubi's chakra which was nothing but the solidified hatred of mankind. With the seventh attack the Juubi's chakra was spent, and it died. 

The people of the area had watched the fight and when they saw that the Juubi had fallen they approached the giant corpse, poking at it with sticks, then getting bolder and climbing on top of it, or mutilating it and decorating it with a pair of horns to make clear that it was truly a demon.

The Rikudou watched them, and soon he got angry: The Juubi had been a valiant opponent, after all, and deserved to be respected in death, not to be dishonoured. So he took the stones the Juubi had created with the strikes of its tail and made them move and hover and form a giant ball around the Juubi's body and transferred it to the sky where you can now see it as the moon. The people who watched, however, he told: “This was the juubi, created from the emanations of your own hatred. You were right to fear it and to call me to defeat him, but you were wrong to despise him and to defile his body. You only despise yourselves, your own feelings of hatred and your own acts of destruction that gave birth to the Juubi. Rather than triumph over him you should feel ashamed of creating it. Yet I won't blame you, nor punish you for the mischief you brought upon mankind: The devastation of your fields and villages, the death of countless of your friends and relatives will be punishment enough. Just remember the Juubi and remember that he was created by your own hatred whenever you look at the sky and perceive the moon.”

The listeners took his words to their hearts and ceased to indulge in hatred but learnt to live in peace with their neighbours, and whenever they got angry or impatient they looked at the moon and remembered the results of their violence, and thus decided to choose another way. The Rikudou, however, moved on, with the chakra of the Juubi, which was pure hatred, enclosed within him.

So this was the first time that the Rikudou fought not against an ordinary enemy, be it beast or demon or human being, but against the hatred of people itself, having to incorporate it and thus hastening the end of his days in this world. 

Naruto shivered when he had read the story. He could not help thinking that the kyuubi probably consisted of pure hatred too . What had been sealed into him at an age when he had been far too young to be asked for permission? A creature that was himself, feelings that were not his own. In spite of his proud words to the husband of the guy from Earth Country he suddenly felt insecure whether he was truly himself, and not something or someone else that had been implanted into him, while his true self was busy restraining it instead of becoming what he might have been without the kyuubi. Also he was worried because of the last line of the story: that the Rikudou had died prematurely because of the Juubi.

The seal his father, the Yondaime, had used to lock up the kyuubi was still in place, but it might break at any time. Losing control during sex weakened it even further. Naruto felt sad and bitter about what had been done to him. He did his best to get his bitterness under control and return to his usual cheerfulness but before he had succeeded Sasuke, who was lying back to back with him, reading the book about the history of Konoha, sat up and looked over his shoulder – maybe he had sensed that something was wrong with Naruto. He had a look at Naruto's book: 

“Is this the kyuubi?” he asked when he saw the picture.

“It's the Juubi”, Naruto replied. “Count the tails!” 

“I had no idea that such a creature existed”, Sasuke continued when he had convinced himself that the demon had ten tails. “May I read it?” 

Naruto gave him the book.


	63. Chapter Sixty: The end of procrastination

Sasuke did not need any explanations to understand that Naruto was troubled by the story. He laid one arm around Naruto's shoulders to comfort him, and with his hand he caressed his navel. He woke up the kyuubi which began to bang its head against the bars of its cage, causing Naruto pain; still Naruto did not move Sasuke's hand to another, less vulnerable point (say his cock) but just held it fast on his navel, preventing Sasuke from moving it around. 

“Don't worry about the kyuubi”, Sasuke said. “It's just a demon, nothing more. It's not an assemblage of people's hatred, or any hatred. It's a demon, it happens to live inside you, but it's got nothing to do with you. You are Naruto, you are friendly towards everyone, you care for everyone, you don't think of your own advantage. And if the worst happens and the demon tries to overcome you I can still control it. Anyway, this is only a story for children, made up to give them some excitement and to teach them to get along with other people. It's made up, it's got nothing to do with reality. No one, not even the Rikudou, can create something that's as big as the moon.”

“You don't know how big the moon is, so you don't know whether the Rikudou was able to create it.”

“People here will know”, Sasuke said. “They know a lot of stuff. And the story is made up all the same. Hatred is a feeling, and it can't take solid form. The creature inside you is an ordinary demon, nothing more.” 

Naruto did not feel comforted. “You don't know all this”, he said.

He allowed Sasuke to hold and caress him, and slowly he calmed down.

“What about doing something to promote peace yourself?” Sasuke said when he felt that Naruto had relaxed. “Like writing the introduction to the Gutsy Ninja.”

Naruto remained motionless for about a minute, then he sat up abruptly, shaking off Sasuke's arm.

“I will do it now”, he said. 

Sasuke was surprised: Naruto had been putting off this task for quite some time now (just as the task of working out a decent plan to defeat Danzou), so he had not expected such a sudden resolve. He watched him take place at his desk, chew his pencil, write some sentences, chew his pencil again, strike out what he had written, tear apart the paper and take a new one, chew his pencil again. Sasuke understood that he could not help his friend and went out to do some shopping: for some time now he had planned to buy himself some perfume, liking the smell of the ones the other gay men used, but he had always refrained from it as he feared that Naruto would make fun of him. Now was the perfect time, he thought, but inside the shop, trying out the various brands he could not focus because his thoughts kept wandering to Naruto. When he returned he had not bought anything. Naruto, however, had written something he could present him: 

The Gutsy Ninja is the first book Jiraiya ever wrote. It was written after his encounter with Nagato and his two friends from Amegakure, three orphans who had become Jiraiya's students. They accepted him as their teacher even though he was from Konoha. It had been ninjas from Konoha who were responsible for killing their parents, but Nagato and his friends learnt to trust Jiraiya as he did not treat them as enemies but offered them first food and then training.

Jiraiya had a soft spot for Nagato: Nagato dreamt of peace, and he inspired Jiraiya to dream of peace too. Right at the beginning of their time as teacher and student Nagato had to defend his friends against some robbers who had attacked them to steal their food. Nagato killed the attackers but he immediately regretted it. Jiraiya tried to disperse his doubts. He told Nagato that he did the right thing, defending his friends. This is what ninja are expected to do and what they are praised for. Nagato, however, went further than this: He dreamt of a way to protect one's friends without killing anyone. 

Jiraiya was moved by this idea. When he discovered that Nagato had the Rinnegan, the mythical eye jutsu of the Rikudou Sennin himself, he hoped that Nagato might be the reincarnation of the ancient sage and bring peace and salvation to this world. 

He was disappointed. Nagato lost faith in the possibility of achieving peace without killing people. Jiraiya, however, kept dreaming of that kind of peace. He wrote the Gutsy Ninja in the hope that it would help people to overcome their hatred and learn to understand each other, and he dedicated the book to Nagato. It was his greatest desire that the kind of peace that's founded on mutual understanding, not on killing people, might become reality, greater than his desire for women, or for sex. 

As Jiraiya's heir it's my wish that Jiraiya's greatest dream should not be forgotten. I release this new edition of the Gutsy Ninja in the hope that it will again inspire people with a desire for peace.

Sasuke looked up: Naruto was waiting for his judgement, fiddling with his hair. 

“You should begin with the stuff about the dedication”, he said. “Otherwise people won't know why you wrote so much about this Nagato.” 

Naruto nodded, and the tension in his face grew.

“Otherwise it's okay.” 

Naruto's began to move from one side to the other in his chair. 

“It really is. You go straight to the point: That Nagato dreamt of a way to protect one's friends without killing people.”

Naruto still did not look happy. Sasuke embraced him. 

“It's good”, he said. “People will be moved by Jiraiya's dream of peace that's founded on understanding. The Gutsy Ninja will impress them. They will understand about the importance of peace.”

Slowly Naruto relaxed, and Sasuke dissolved the embrace. 

“I always thought that Jiraiya wrote the Gutsy Ninja for you”, Sasuke said. “Naming the hero after you so that you may identify with him and choose him as a role model.”

“It was the other way around”, Naruto answered. “I was named after the Gutsy Ninja. My father, the Yondaime, was Jiraiya's student, so I guess he had to proofread the book, just as I had to read Icha-Icha, and he liked it so much that he named me after the hero.”

“It must mean a lot to you.”

“It does.”

They were silent for a while. Sasuke looked at his friend, thinking that he was very beautiful in his earnestness and his idealism. He had fallen in love with the cheerful kid who had smiled at everyone and tried to remain in good spirit even though no one liked him, but Naruto was no longer a kid: He was a young man who was very serious about giving the world what it most needed: peace. He admired him, and at the same time he envied him. He regretted that his own family had not left him a dream as great and noble as the dream of the kind of peace that did not include killing people. They had just been ordinary ninja, maybe a bit stronger than average, running the military police of Konoha, but this did not mean that they were less important or that they should be forgotten...

“I have read about this Nagato”, he said. “He and his friends led a group of rebels during the Second Ninja World War. When they wanted to meet Hanzo, the regular leader of Amegakure, to negotiate a truce they were led into a trap laid by Danzou. After the betrayal their methods grew more ruthless. Before they had confined themselves to acts of sabotage, but then they also turned to killing people, including civilians.” 

“He told me about it”, Naruto answered, thinking that he had not been told that Nagato had led a group of rebels.

“You talked to him?” 

“Yes, after I fought him when he had attacked Konoha.”

Against his will, Sasuke was impressed, but he tried not to show it.

“So in the end he decided to attack Konoha in retribution for what Konoha nin had done to him”, he said. “Jiraiya's   
mistakes were the same as the Gutsy Ninja's. You don't achieve peace if you think it's only crimes commited against Konoha that need to be forgiven.”

Naruto did not anwer.

“Nagato was a fool anyway”, Sasuke continued. “He was too idealistic and naive, believing that there might be peace with someone as Danzou. You should include him in your preface anyway: Tell people that it was Danzou who's responsible that Nagato lost faith in his dream of peace without killing people. With someone as Danzou, peace is not possible.”

Naruto was not sure whether he really wanted to follow this advice. He felt annoyed at Sasuke that he could think of nothing but his grudge against Danzou. 

“You may rewrite the preface if this is so important to you”, he said.

“I will”, Sasuke answered. “I will tell people: Watch out for people like Danzou, as with them peace is not possible.”

He paused for a few seconds, and when he talked again it was in a much lower, calmer voice. “Itachi dreamt of peace too, and he made the same mistake as Nagato: he trusted Danzou, and believed him when he told him that in order to preserve peace he had to kill his own clan.”

“That was the wrong kind of peace”, Naruto said. “It was the kind of peace that's based on killing people. But killing just continues the chain of hatred. It does not create the kind of peace that lasts.”

“It would have lasted if Itachi had carried out the original plan and killed me too”, Sasuke said. 

Naruto leant back, wondering about the implications of Sasuke's words. 

“You don't create peace by killing children”, he said agitatedly. 

He drew Sasuke into his arms. He did it slowly and more carefully than ever since they had become lovers, feeling that Sasuke was all stiff and lost in his sorrow. Still he accepted Naruto's embrace.

“I am glad that he spared you”, he said.

“I just wish he had spared the rest of the family too”, Sasuke replied.

Slowly he relaxed and allowed himself to be held by Naruto. It had been wrong to kill the clan, he thought, even if they had been planning a coup d'etat. It did him well to hear it again and again: They had not deserved to die. He had not deserved to die. Danzou would have to pay.


	64. Chapter Sixty-One: Simple and human

For some minutes Sasuke rested his head on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto's peace is not the same as Danzou's, he thought. It does not include killing people... He had never cared much about peace, least of all the peace of Konoha, which to him had always been the peace that was founded on not talking about the murder of his family while his own heart was in flames. Not even before he had learnt that it had been Konoha that was responsible for his family's murder he had been able to enjoy its peace, but when he had learnt it he had with all his heart abhorred Konoha's peace, which was bought at the price of his family's including Itachi's death, and ultimately also his own. 

The peace of Music Town was of a different kind, he thought, a kind of peace he was curious about, and Naruto's peace was of a different kind too. Tentatively he opened up to Naruto's idea of peace, the kind of peace that did not threaten his and his family's existence and did not justify their murder. There might be a kind of peace that included him.

Sasuke often felt a bit protective of Naruto, perceiving him as naive and childlike with his innocence and his laughter and his endeavour to please everyone. Now, however, Naruto was all serious and not childlike at all, and his dream of peace was noble and heroic and would make him indeed a saint of the rank of the Rikudou if he ever achieved it. He loved and admired Naruto for this dream, and for the moment he allowed Naruto to hold him, and Naruto's dream to engulf him.

Naruto felt how Sasuke relaxed in his arms. He caressed him very carefully, knowing that Sasuke was mourning his family. There were moments when he felt annoyed that Sasuke was not able to let go, but also he deeply pitied him and did his best to comfort him.

After some time of resting in his arms Sasuke got more active again. He began to nibble Naruto's ear, and Naruto turned his head to kiss him, quite content that they returned to the present and to simple, enjoyable activities as having sex. He broke the kiss and leant back to be able to look at Sasuke, expecting the usual blend of seductiveness and tenderness, but instead Sasuke was all serious and open and vulnerable, and not acting at all.

Naruto felt moved and got serious too, though he had been looking forward to having sex and being his usual cheerful self again, enjoying himself and not thinking about peace or saving the world. Sasuke kissed him, slowly, carefully, yet not timidly: both of them had gained confidence in their love-making skills. Naruto felt the kisses to the core of his being, and felt open and vulnerable himself. He returned Sasuke's kisses in the same serious spirit, kissing not only his lips but all his face, and then his closed eyes: his friend and his lover, beautiful and strong and giving meaning to his life by accepting him, and then Sasuke opened his eyes again and started to kiss Naruto's face and his closed eyes too, making him feel valuable beyond any price. 

His hand's moved under Naruto's shirt, confident that Naruto enjoyed this, and then he took it off, his eyes taking in the sight of Naruto's naked chest, muscular and hairy, but the hair was golden and lighter than Naruto's skin. He caressed the muscles and the nipples and the soft points on his flanks, and Naruto blushed, understanding the wordless compliments. It was rare that Sasuke initiated their love-making, both because Naruto liked being active and felt much more confident giving pleasure than receiving it and because Sasuke, even though he was certain of his own skills, still feared that one day Naruto would remember that he was straight after all. Now however he insisted on taking the initiative, and then he went on to set the pace. Naruto enjoyed it, all in all, feeling cherished, and also sensing that there was a reason why it was important for Sasuke to remain in control. 

Still he could not restrain himself as perfectly as Sasuke would have preferred it. He took off Sasuke's shirt, longing for the sight of his naked body and the feel of his skin, and he laid his hand on Sasuke's chest to feel for his heartbeat. He was with him, he thought, after so many years of separation, real in flesh and blood. 

He allowed Sasuke to lead him to the bed and to undress him completely. He caught Sasuke's admiring looks when he looked at his cock, even now after having been lovers for a couple of weeks, and then Sasuke began to awaken it, caressing it with his tongue and his lips. Naruto closed his eyes, focusing on his pleasure, enjoying that he might entrust his most sensitive and vulnerable parts to his friend. 

Sasuke made him sit on the bed, sparing Naruto the necessity of taking care that he did not fall over, and then, following an impulse, he made him lie down, his back on the bed and his legs in the air, and then on his, Sasuke's shoulders, so that he might have better access to his genitals. Naruto felt helpless and exposed and nervous, even though he knew that he shouldn't be: By now Sasuke had often lain on his back like this, his feet on Naruto's shoulders, allowing Naruto to insert a finger or two and losing himself in pleasure. But Sasuke did not have a demon within him, Naruto thought.

Slowly he began to trust that Sasuke had no intention to cross the line jhe had set. In principle Sasuke was still annoyed that Naruto would not let him take care of the kyuubi and then be the active partner, and he was determined that one day this would change, but today was not that day. For today he had other plans. 

He ceased licking Naruto's cock when he had the impression that he might come every moment now. He made him lie fully on the bed with all his weight and his feet resting on the bed now too, while he leant over Naruto, kissing him, gently caressing his cock with one hand so that he would not lose his erection. He had got aroused himself: with his free hand he began to take off his pants. Naruto tried to help him, but not very effectively. He looked interested, though, and caressed Sasuke's cock as soon as it had been liberated from its clothes. 

Sasuke joined Naruto on the bed. Naruto sat up to embrace him, but Sasuke made him lie down again. He did not allow Naruto to touch his cock, just to lightly touch his hips, while he himself again used first his hands, then his mouth to arouse Naruto. 

By now Naruto had understood what Sasuke intended to do, and he had also understood that he had to let him remain in control. He was not disappointed: Sasuke reached out for the bottle of lube and used it generously on Naruto's cock, then he changed position, kneeling above him. Naruto felt excited and curious, but mostly he felt overwhelmed: Sasuke, his friend, now his lover was ready to accept him in this most intimated way, he was ready to accept him inside himself. He caressed Sasuke's face and his chest, and then, lying on his back as he was, he took some lube and distributed it around Sasuke's anus. He inserted a finger, then two, to stretch the ring of muscles: Sasuke would not be able to let go completely, Naruto thought, sitting upright instead of lying on his back, but it had been his own choice.

Sasuke smiled and then gently removed Naruto's fingers: This was not what he had in mind for today. He was a bit scared too, but Naruto's fingers had reminded him that it did not hurt to have Naruto inside him, that he enjoyed giving himself to Naruto: the cock was just a bit bigger. He had thought it beautiful since he had first seen Naruto naked after they had met in Music Town, and when it was erect he normally had difficulties to turn his eyes away from it: strong and full of vitality, just as the rest of Naruto. Now he'd have him within himself, not only Naruto's cock, but also (as he imagined) Naruto's essence. He was scared: He loved Naruto's cheerfulness and his determination and also his dream of peace, but he was not sure whether he wanted it all inside him. He was glad that Naruto had given in at least in the question of of who would be on top: lying on his back, all patient and expectant, not doing anything but waiting: no longer the restless kid he used to be - now he had found what he had craved for for all his life, love and acceptance.

Sasuke smiled and caressed Naruto's face: “You want it?” he asked, and Naruto's smile grew wider, he could not restrain himself any longer, but drew Sasuke down to him so that he could kiss him all over his face. He laughed, a warm laughter from the depths of his belly, and Sasuke smiled and kissed his face too.

“Sure I want”; Naruto said while his hands messed up Sasuke's hair. 

Sasuke was not good at laughing; he had not had much practise since the murder of his family. Normally all he achieved was a smile. Now however Naruto's laughter infected him, and he laughed silently, only the muscles of his belly moving. They kissed and embraced, their genitals rubbing against each other, and then they had to start from zero, getting Naruto aroused (and serious) again, renewing the layer of lube that had been distributed over their thighs and bellies. Sasuke was less strict now about Naruto remaining passive, he allowed him to caress his thighs and his belly, and then again to insert some fingers and stretch him, but their laughter had done more to relax Sasuke than any of Naruto's fingers. 

He sat up again, regaining the initiative, caressing Naruto's face, his nipples, his cock, and telling him just to enjoy. He lowered himself onto Naruto and with all the lube it was quite easy, almost as easy as one finger and certainly easier than three. He sat down, taking in Naruto's cock completely, and the expression of Naruto's eyes, wide open in bliss and surpise, even though he had known what was going to happen, compensated for any pain he felt. It went away soon enough as he adjusted to having Naruto inside him: now they were united, as close as they might possibly be. He took Naruto's hands and laid them on his thighs and caressed them. Slowly he began to move up and down, and then he varied the speed. Soon Naruto's breath got faster, and Sasuke allowed himself to give in to his own pleasure, no longer just watching how Naruto looked.

Naruto came within him, his eyes closed, and when he opened them again they had changed in colour and form of pupil. His whisker marks were more prominent now too. Sasuke panicked, he activated his Sharingan, and saw that the kyuubi had got active again. His chakra surrounded Naruto, and entering Naruto's mind he saw the demon fox itself, his chakra leaking through the bars of its cage. Naruto was forcing him back: he did not need Sasuke's help. Sasuke withdrew from his mind, hoping that Naruto had not noticed him. He got back to the ordinary world where the kyuubi's chakra around Naruto was fading, and when Naruto opened his eyes they were blue again. 

“I told you not to use your Sharingan on me”, Naruto said.

Sasuke lifted himself so that Naruto's cock slid out of him. “The kyuubi was on the point of gaining control.”

“It wasn't”, Naruto replied. “Only with four tails it's really dangerous. Up to three tails I'm still in control.”

They were silent for a while, then Naruto began to cry, still silently. Sasuke drew him into his arms, holding him, caressing him, and this time he had the wisdom not to tell Naruto that he could control the kyuubi, if Naruto just let him. He waited until Naruto had finished crying, and even though he was worried about the kyuubi and the fact that they did not make any progress (mostly because Naruto did not allow him to help him) he also enjoyed that for once it was him comforting Naruto and not the other way round. They were still naked, their legs entangled, he still felt that his anus had been stretched to its limit, and he felt very protective, He wrapped his legs around Naruto.

Naruto was despairing, first about the kyuubi and then about the fact that he was not able to pull himself out of his despair. He too was aware that there had not been any progress concerning the kyuubi, but that, on the contrary, the situation was getting worse. He cried because a simple human pleasure as having sex, something everyone did, was turned impossible to him. It could have been so easy – Sasuke was making it easy – and everything about it was enjoyable, just that losing control during orgasm also meant that he lost control over the kyuubi. 

Sasuke caressed him. Slowly Naruto relaxed and fell asleep.


	65. Chapter Sixty-Two: Conflicts in Music Town

Sasuke remained awake, watching over Naruto's sleep and cautiously kissing his hair. Now they'd had even anal sex, he thought, remembering how he had watched Kabuto and Orochimaru, and how he had fought off fantasies of doing the same to Naruto. He had been the active partner in these fantasies, of course, but now this did not matter. What counted was that they had been united in this most intimate way, and that it had not been about pain or submission but only about being as close as possible. (This did not imply, of course, that he was ready to give up his intention of being the active partner himself once they had solved the problem with the kyuubi.) He caressed Naruto's shoulders, followed the line of his flanks with his fingers, and then felt for the round form of his buttocks: they were lying in spooning position now, but Sasuke felt more protective of Naruto than he felt any erotic desire. There'd be other times. Probably.

Naruto did not sleep for long: it was in the middle of the afternoon, after all. 

“Did you like it?” Sasuke asked when he noticed that Naruto was awake.

“What?”

“Having sex?” 

Naruto turned around, embracing Sasuke with his arms and legs and kissing him. 

“Even though the kyuubi was on the point of taking over?” 

“He was still far from it. You did not have to enter my mind.”

Sasuke felt annoyed, but he did not show it. 

“You want to do it again?”

Naruto looked uncertain. “Now?”

“Yes.”

Naruto smiled and rolled on his back. He's so beautiful when he's smiling, Sasuke thought, and all I have to do to turn on this smile is ask for some sex. He began to kiss Naruto and caress his cock.

It was easier this time as they were less nervous now. Sasuke got experimental and took care that his prostate got stimulated, so that this time he came too. Naruto watched him, and when afterwards Naruto came, Sasuke kept an eye on him, but he did not use his Sharingan: Naruto managed to keep the kyuubi in check himself. 

Having sex was not the only occasion when the kyuubi would wake up. The most important football match of the season was approaching, the relegation match that would decide whether Inner Center would remain in the highest league of the football association of Music Town. Naruto and Sasuke went to watch the match with some friends of the gay community who happened to be fans of Inner Center too. 

Even more than Naruto Sasuke was aware how much their situation had changed since they had watched their first match together: Then they had been on their own, and Naruto had greeted fans he did not know, just because they were also fans of Inner Center. Now they met friends and acquaintances among the other fans, and they proceeded very slowly on their way to the stadium as Naruto stopped to chat with each of them: 

“They are bound to win”, he told them, “They'll give everything now. They'll fight and run to their last drop of breath. They just cannot afford to lose.”

Sasuke hoped they'd win, though mainly for Naruto's sake. He liked football, and he was glad that he and Naruto were finally getting better at playing, but he lacked Naruto's passion for “their” team, Inner Center. Thus, while Naruto talked to the other fans, his own eyes were on the policewomen who guided the masses on their way to the stadium: some just standing around and chatting and occasionally answering questions and telling people where not to go, and to Sasuke's astonishment people mostly obeyed, even though these women obviously were not elite ninja as his own family had been. (If people did not obey immediately they normally did when the women got angry.) On the other hand, the football fans here weren't ninja either, so that you did not need elite ninja to keep them in check.

Some of the women, however, were on horseback, and it were these who really impressed Sasuke. He had never seen any horses, except on pictures or in the form of plastic toys of Juugo's new foster sisters. He had not thought that they were so big and strong, and the women on their backs so tiny in comparison. He wondered whether they had a special trick for controlling these huge beasts, some kind of genjutsu maybe. 

Naruto bought beer, French Fries and fat sausages for the whole group, then they were ready to enter the stadium. Naruto was optimistic, not only because he was always optimistic but also because he was genuinely convinced that his team, Inner Center, was better than the other team. (Sasuke did not point out to him that he had never seen the other team play.) He kept his optimism for a long time, even when their friends were getting more and more desperate as the match went on and neither team scored a goal. He pointed out to them that Inner Center kept attacking, while the other team confined themselves to defending their goal. They were bound to make a mistake, he explained to his friends, and then Inner Center would score.

Alas, it did not come true. Fifteen minutes before the match ended Inner Center lost the ball in a moment of unfocussedness, and then the other team outran and outwitted their defense and scored. Inner Center got even more offensive now, so that Naruto kept hoping that they'd draw even, but this had as a consequence that their defense got even more disorganized so that the other team scored a second time, just a few seconds before the final whistle. 

Naruto was in shock, tears running down his face. Sasuke laid an arm around his shoulders. (Fans everywhere did this, even straight guys.) Their friends were crying too, and none of them was able to leave the stadium while fans of the other team rushed to the lawn to embrace the players. Only when some security guy told them to get up they finally left, led by Sasuke who was not crying, even though he was affected by his friends' grief. He enjoyed comforting Naruto, though. 

“Next season they'll be back”, he said. 

Naruto would have calmed down soon – he never was sad for long – if it had not been for some fans of the other team, singing “good bye, Inner Center”. Naruto lost his temper when he heard them.

“You were just lucky!” he shouted at them. “We were always attacking! By right we should have won!”

“Not lucky, clever!” the other fans replied. “You were too stupid to score.”

“You were too cowardly to open your lines of defense”, one of their friends said. “And you only scored because you conquered the ball with a foul the referee did not see.”

It was not true, Sasuke thought. He had again used his Sharingan to be better able to follow the match. 

The fans of the other team, who originally had been in a good mood, naturally, were getting more and more angry now. 

“We won the match by right”, they said. “Learn to play football, then you'll be able to score, and won't have to cry.”

“We are not crying”, Naruto shouted, even though this was obviously not true.

The mood was very aggressive now, both sides ready to fight, Sasuke being the sole exception. Nervously he watched the changes in Naruto's face, he even activated his Sharingan to see the kyuubi's chakra surrounding Naruto but he did not enter Naruto's mind. 

“Calm down. It's just football. There's no need to get upset”, he told Naruto. 

“How can you tell me to calm down in such a situation?” Naruto asked. “We've lost, and they're making fun of us. You're not a true fan.”

“No, I am not”, Sasuke said. “Now calm down.”

He increased the weight of his arm around Naruto's shoulders, and with his free hand he took Naruto's hand. 

“You're a traitor”, Naruto said. “You always were. You don't know the value of loyalty.”

“I'm loyal to you”, Sasuke said. Forcefully holding Naruto back as their friends took a step towards the opposing fans. “You don't want people to notice that you're the kyuubi's jinchuuriki.”

Naruto was still sufficiently rational (and sober) to be shocked by these words.

“Does it show?” 

“I notice”, Sasuke replied. “And if you go on, other people will notice too.”

Naruto allowed Sasuke to lead him to the side of the street, out of the mêlée. Their friends, though they had pulled up their sleeves, still had not begun to fight, but continued provoking the other fans. They weren't real fighters, Sasuke thought; it was a good idea that he and Naruto stayed out of the controversy, as with them, the fight would have got serious.

In the end the situation was broken up by two of the women on horseback. The prospective fighters stepped back as the great animals approached and the women dismounted. They took down everyone's names, and Naruto, who by now had calmed down completely, was glad that Sasuke had forced him to withdraw. He wanted to thank him, but Sasuke was staring fascinatedly at the scene.

“What's happened to you?” Naruto asked. “It's all women.”

“It's the horses”, Sasuke replied.

He caressed Naruto's shoulder. “Next year they'll play in the first league again”, he said. “Let's go home!”

People in Music Town did not only get upset about football. There was also a heated debate about some foreign event called European Song Contest. Allegedly it was very popular among gay people in other parts of the world, so that the gay community of Music Town discussed whether it should also take an interest and send a delegation to the festival to meet with gay people from all over the world. There was consent that the music itself was not worth it, as it was extraordinarilily bad. It was so bad that people in Music Town had difficulties to make sense of the contest: Should a country not try to send its best musician to represent it, so that they might win honour for their country? They speculated that it was all a mock contest about having the worst musician, but the theory broke down when people had a look at the outcome of previous years and discovered that normally the most decent of all thse bad musicians won. 

Many members of the gay community of Music Town felt offended by the idea that they should join an event that was mainly about bad music, They considered it a betrayal of the ideals of their home town, and they valued their patriotism higher than their loyalty to the international gay community. “We are gay”, they said, “but this does not mean that we don't have any taste for music. We are citizens of Music Town just as everyone else.”

Others argued that gay people from other countries also knew that this was bad music and that they should losen up and join them in making fun of the event and else make use of the opportunity to meet gay people from other places and have fun with them (not only fun, but also sex as far as Sasuke and Naruto understood.) 

Neither of them had any opinion on the matter in question. Sasuke still had not developed any taste for music but considered it something you somehow needed in order to dance synchronically. Naruto, however, actually liked the music that was typical for the contest: He was wise enough, however, to understand that he'd lose the respect of all their fellow dancers if he openly admitted this. Also they wondered how people could get into heated debates about something as trivial as music, but when Sasuke mentioned this to the husband of the guy from Earth Country the man got very upset and told Sasuke that he had understood nothing and still had to learn a lot and should care more about the ideals of Music Town if he ever wanted to feel at home here.

Sasuke was silenced by the man's outbreak, and by himself he came to the conclusion that people in Music Town loved to argue, though mostly about trifles. They had no idea what fighting really meant: what it meant to risk your life, to get hurt, see your comrades risk their lives, to watch your loved ones die. They had no idea what it meant if your whole right to exist was at stake and you had to fight to reestablish it. People in Music Town did not know of danger, or of being threatened and therefore they loved fighting, like the kids of their taijutsu class or the football fans who provoked each other, or like their gay friends who engaged in endless discussions about a music contest on the other side of the world. 

Recently he and Naruto had made some friends who loved discussions even more than the average citizen of Music Town did. It seemed to be their major hobby and their principal activity when they hung out at the riverside, where Sasuke and Naruto had got to know them via some friends and friends of friends. The group consisted of straight and gay people, meaning that Sasuke had to learn to get along with females who were neither lesbians nor six years old. He discovered that it was quite easy if he made clear that he belonged to Naruto and he even learnt to flirt a bit. It was Naruto who was more nervous in female company now, which made Sasuke nervous in his turn: Was Naruto anxious to please these young women? Normally, however, when they returned from such an evening, Naruto would embrace him and kiss him and then undress both of them so that they might have sex. Sasuke never asked for the reasons of this behaviour, he was just glad that Naruto showed his affection in such a passionate way. For Naruto, however, Sasuke's warm response was a reminder of being accepted as he was that he desperately needed after such an evening. In the company of women he felt clumsy and awkward and inadequate, and even more so when Sasuke flirted with them. (It did not help that most of them were a few years older.) With the gay men (he still did not think of them as the other gay men) he felt more comfortable. To them his clumsiness was manly and his extroversion charming. 

He also felt intimidated by the young people's education. First he had thought that they were ordinary people working in ordinary jobs, older than him and Sasuke, but still far more similar to them than the teenagers from their first dance class who still went to school. Then, however, they had discovered that their new friends were students at the university, and that their gossip was all about professors and other students, and if they did not just gossip their conversation was not about football but about politics.

Everybody in Music Town discussed politics. It was, after football and music the third most popular topic of conversation (and argument). But while the regulars of their restaurant mostly complained about streets with too many holes or schools in need of redecoration, or about curfew hours and laws about smoking or not smoking in restaurants, these young people went for the big picture: They complained that the whole government of Music Town was corrupt and that the old elite of the time when it had still been the Hidden Village of Music was still in power. 

“Nothing has changed”, they said. “it's still the old clans. It's just that they've ceased to sell their fighting skills and instead now control the music industry. All the big labels are theirs, and they decide whose music shall be promoted in all the ninja nations and who will have to play in basement clubs for all their life. They think they're a special kind of people with superior taste in Music, but in reality they have just inherited power and money from their ancestors.”

Naruto wondered what Sasuke thought of this, being the descendant of an old, powerful clan himself, but Sasuke seemed quite interested. 

“There should be more possibilitlies for smaller labels, and it should not be those on top who decide which music becomes famous and which does not. People should decide.”

Others would contradict: “You can't let the whole population decide which kind of music should become famous. Most people are stupid, they demand simple music that challenges them neither emotionally nor intellectually. They want something that makes them feel well. If you let them decide you get something like the European Song Contest. It should be the good musicians who decide what's good music, those who really know what they're talking about, and that's not the old clans.”

They also discussed methods to bring about the change they dreamt of. Some suggested founding their own independent label, devoted to experimental music, others preferred to nationalize the big labels and see that the influential posts were no longer held by members of the old elite. They considered drawing some of the younger, more open-minded members of the administration on their side, or collecting signatures to show the government that some of its members were not popular at all, or to force them to take measures against a record label that forced unfair contracts on their musicians. 

Sasuke took care not to miss any of their words. All these ways of getting rid of a political elite were completely new to him. They would not work against Danzou, however, he thought. (Also, he had never considered changing the system. They'd take Danzou out of office, and then Naruto would replace him as Hokage.) 

They told their new acquaintances that they were from Konoha, but pretended that they had left because they were gay. Just as Naruto suspected Sasuke was not very keen on telling these young people that his own clan had been part of the old elite (or maybe they had not, or they would not have been ghettoized and murdered.) 

“Konoha, wow”, their new friends said. “That's quite a backward place, though it certainly has its charms. People there still support each other, while here everyone only thinks of himself. Danzou is ruining all all, however. He's the worst Hokage they ever had.” 

“He's really just a cruel military dictator”, someone else said. “The former Hokages all managed to uphold an appearance of caring for their village. He's revealing the true nature of the ninja villages' political system. You must be glad that you escaped, even though it's probably difficult for you to deal with the liberties and possibilities of Music Town.” 

Naruto felt offended, but Sasuke smiled, pleased about their new friends' condemnation of Danzou. 

“We enjoy the liberties and possibilities, thanks”, he said, leaning against Naruto and laying Naruto's arms around himself. 

“We don't intend to stay, however”, Naruto added. “We plan to return and to take Danzou out of office.”

“Do you?” the young people replied. “Cool.”


	66. Chapter Sixty-Three: Preaching Peace

The release of the new edition of the Gutsy Ninja was drawing near. As he had promised Sasuke had rewritten the introduction, reorganizing it, improving (or at least changing) its style and most of all adding the story of Danzou's betrayal of Nagato. The editor of Icha-Icha then wrote a third and final version and showed it to the two boys when they visited him in his office: 

I am proud to present you Jiraiya's first novel, after it's been out of print for more than ten years. It was written when Jiraiya was still young and the Sannin were still a team, and you will easily see that he still lacked the craftsmanship of his later years, yet all the more his talent and his idealism shine through, unpolished and ungroomed.

The story is told in a few lines: Naruto, the Gutsy Ninja, is desolate after his country has been laid waste in a war that had killed most of his relatives, but he refuses to give up. As a wandering nin he travels around and finally takes service at the court of a young princess whose country is under attack of several of her neighbours. He organizes the defense and fights himself in the first line, but his true desire is peace, not fighting, and a reconciliation between enemies. 

It's this dream of peace and reconciliation that raises the Gutsy Ninja over the level of a mere adventure story. For Jiraiya it was not enough that his own country and his own friends – or the country and friends of his protagonist – were safe and alive. He wanted peace for his enemies too, and dreamt of a world where people don't kill each other. 

Having taught some kids from Amegakure, a village that was at war with Konoha at the time, Jiraiya knew that reconciliation, peace and even friendship between former enemies is possible. They accepted him as a teacher, even though ninja from Konoha had been responsible for their family's death. If this was possible on a small scale, Jiraiya concluded, it might be possible on a larger scale as well, leading to peace between whole nations. For this reason he wrote the Gutsy Ninja, hoping that other people might be inspired by his dream, too.

I am Jiraiya's heir, named after the Gutsy Ninja himself, and Jiraya's dream is my dream too. After ten years of being out of print the Gutsy Ninja is now rereleased, and it's my greatest hope that Jiraiya's dream will become your dream too. 

Naruto read the text and was disappointed. There was nothing left of Nagato's dream of protecting his friends without killing anyone. His dream of another way had been cut out. He had no opportunity to complain, however, as Sasuke was furious about the revisions, and spoke before Naruto had found any words to express his annoyance: 

“What happened to the story of Danzou betraying Nagato? That was the most important part! Nagato and his friends would have achieved peace, together with the people of Amegakure who longed for a life without fear, if it had not been for Danzou, who hates peace and tries to destroy it wherever he can, and only cares about his own advantage and his own personal power.” 

He went on like this for some minutes. The editor listened calmly until Sasuke had spent his breath, then he turned to Naruto. 

“You want the Gutsy Ninja to be sold in Konoha too?” he asked.

“Yes”, Naruto answered.

“Then you don't attack the Hokage in the introduction. I don't want to run into any conflict.”

“You're a coward”, Sasuke said. 

“I am, contrary to you, a grown-up man who's responsible for a large enterprise. We sell light entertaining literature. We don't engage in politics. If you don't understand this, it means that you still have a lot of growing up to do. Most of all, you have to learn to live in the real world.”

Sasuke was silenced. Naruto could not do much to comfort him, as silently he agreed to the editor: It was better if the introduction did not contain any direct attack against Danzou. He did not like Danzou, but attacking him in the introduction felt like attacking Konoha. 

Sasuke had to turn to their new friends from the riverside for consolation,: They agreed with him that the editor was a coward and told Naruto that he should have chosen a politically more aware publishing house for this new release of the Gutsy Ninja, a publishing house that might have had the guts to publish a text that was outside the general comfort zone. 

There was still the photo of Naruto for the back cover to be taken. Sasuke insisted on accompanying him. He had mixed feelings about the occasion: Naruto being dressed up and photographed in a way that might attract the female fans of Icha-Icha made him feel proud of his good-looking lover on the one hand, but anxious on the other hand. He feared that Naruto might change his mind about being gay if he found out that females thought him handsome.

Naruto had mixed feelings too, mostly about Sasuke accompanying him to the photographer after he had managed to embarrass him when they had discussed the preface with the editor. Sasuke did not disappoint him now either: Instead of staying silently in the background he joined the discussion when the photographer and her assistants chose clothes for Naruto, interrupting them and refusing to listen to their opinion until they told him to shut up. He stood in a corner, sulking, watching Naruto try on the various clothes the women had chosen, yet in the end he triumphed when none of their choices looked good on him and they finally gave a try to the shirts that had been Sasuke's first choice.

“I told you”, he said. “I know him. Orange suits him.”

He got even more nervous when one of the women did Naruto's make up. It was far too intimate, he thought: Naruto should not allow anyone but him to touch his face in such a tender way. 

“You're doing it all wrong”, he said when he saw the make-up assistant cover Naruto's whisker marks with a thick layer of make-up. “The marks are part of his identity. If you conceal them he no longer looks like himself.”

He sat down at Naruto's other side and took a paper tissue to wipe off the make-up. The make-up artist leant back, laying her hands in her lap: Obviously she was not amused. She watched Sasuke take some eyeliner to reinforce the whisker marks. (He knew about eyeliner. Some of the top dancers used it.) He was content with himself. He had worried how he might push her aside, as he did not like to fight women and putting her under a genjutsu would probably have been overdone, but now she had given in just by herself. (Naruto knew better than Sasuke that the women considered him beyond any rational argument now and would not dare to engage him in any fight, even a purely verbal one.)

“You need some foundation to cover up irregularities”, the make-up artist's assistant told him. “Just use it a bit more sparingly.” 

Sasuke smiled and followed her advice, and then he reinforced the whisker marks again. It was nice, he thought, touching Naruto's face and adding some colour to it. The darker marks suited him. He looked at the rest of the make-up artist's provisions: he had not had any idea that there were other colours for eyeliner than black. He chose a light blue one for Naruto and applied it to Naruto's eyes, ignoring the women, who shook their heads, and then went for the most brilliant orange lipstick there was. One of the women tried to intervene, suggesting a more neutral colour, but he turned down the advice, asking her what good it was to use lipstick if you used a colour that was barely visible. 

“The aim of the make-up is to cover up some minor flaws”, she explained. “Not to make him look like a parrot. He's a man after all.”

“He definitely is”, Sasuke said after having applied the orange lipstick. He was content with his work: the colours enhanced the brilliance of Naruto's smile, he thought, both of his lips and his eyes.

“You look really cute”, he told Naruto when he led him to the mirror.

Naruto found himself a bit too colourful, but just like the women he knew better than to mess with Sasuke in his present mood. He was quite annoyed at him: He had looked forward to being photographed, but now Sasuke had managed to be in the spotlight all the time. Also, while he had felt a bit weird, being dressed up and given some make-up as if he was a doll, at least the women had been neutral and professional. Sasuke had been insecure (it had been all too obvious beneath his forwardness) and always a bit afraid that he might hurt Naruto when he applied this or that colour, and also, the warmth and tenderness in his eyes had charged the situation erotically (normally Sasuke looked like this only when he wanted to have sex) in a way that made Naruto feel uncomfortable. He was glad when they finally went to the park to actually take the photos. 

“If the photos turn out badly we'll make another appointment, without your friend”, the chief photographer reassured him.

He did not give much thought to the photos, however, once they were taken. His mind was busy with his and Sasuke's taijutsu class. Sasuke had suggested to him that he might tell the kids some of the stories from the book “Legends of the Rikudou”, and also do the meditation exercise with them. 

“Their mothers want them to learn about peace”, he said. “So maybe it's a good idea to tell them about the origins of taijutsu.”

Naruto was not sure what to think about the suggestion. He felt satisfied that he should not any longer only act as Sasuke's assistant during these classes, but he resented that Sasuke had managed to get into a position where he could assign him such a task. Also he was not sure if he liked this division of labour: Sasuke teaching the cool fighting techniques, him telling stories about peace. 

He told Juugo's fostermothers of their plan when he and Sasuke visited them on Sunday. They encouraged him, and together with ther daughters they helped him choose a story. They advised him to tell the story and not just read it to the kids, and they listened to him while he practised. 

In spite of all his practise he felt extremely nervous when he assembled the kids in a circle and announced that he would tell them a story about the man who had invented ninjutsu. With all their sceptical eyes looking at him he suddenly felt as if he was back to the time when everybody had hated him. For a second he felt tempted to shout at them that he'd become Hokage of Konoha, they'd just see, but he got a grip on himself in time. He'd show both the kids and Sasuke that he could pull this off, and when he began to speak he included all the jokes and sound effects he had practised with Juugo's new mothers and sisters. Soon the kids listened attentively (much better than Juugo's sisters actually, who had kept interrupting him and giving advice) so that he relaxed and warmed up and was better than at any of his rehearsals.

“So the Rikudou defeated the monster, but he also taught people how the next time they might fight the monster by themselves, if they just stood up for each other”, he concluded, and caught Sasuke's eyes: this was Naruto as he loved him best, smiling, happy, outgoing, a bit like a child himself.

Naruto also meditated with the kids. It took him a few seconds to subdue his nervousness, and give up his usual means of dealing with it, extroversion and hastiness, but then he got quiet and entered Sennin State. Sasuke decided not to participate but just to watch, using his Sharingan, and he was impressed: This was much more than his own Kirin for which he had used nature's energy. Naruto did not just use it and guide it, but mixed it with his own chakra, multiplying its strength. 

The kids did quite well, too. Some of them should be able to learn to forge chakra. 

It all went well, but the backlash happened a week later, when some of the mothers turned up and desired to have a word with Naruto. 

“We send our kids because we want them to learn taijutsu”, they said. “We don't want them to be indoctrinated.”

Naruto stood baffled.

“What do you mean, indoctrinated?” 

“We don't want you to teach them any religious messages”, they explained. “Or proselytize them.” 

Naruto was still confused. “I did not talk to them about religion”, he said. 

“You told them a story about the Rikudou Sennin”, they replied. “He was a religious guru. We don't want our kids to follow any guru.”

Naruto had never heard the word. “What is a guru?” he asked.

“A religious teacher”, they answered. 

The Rikudou had indeed founded a new religion, Naruto remembered. But it was a good one – why would anyone resent it? 

“I just told the kids a story”, he said. “A story about fighting monsters and learning to work together. It had nothing to do with religion.”

“Still the Rikudou was the hero of the story. There must be other stories about fighting monsters and learning to work together that have nothing to do with the Rikudou. Choose one of them, next time!” 

Naruto promised, as he had run out of arguments. He felt hurt as if he himself had been attacked by the women, and not just the Rikudou. Also, the book was meant for children, wasn't it, so what should be wrong about telling its stories to these kids?

Sasuke laid his arm around Naruto's shoulders, but he did not understand the women's reaction either, so that he was not able to comfort him. Preaching peace was a tough job, it seemed to him.


	67. Chapter Sixty-Four: Naruto mourning

Sasuke, who was more into newspapers than Naruto, discovered them first: Shikamaru and Temari on the cover of one of the women's magazines. She was visibly pregnant now, but all the same she wore a traditional dress with many layers of silk and intricate embroidery. Shikamaru wore traditional clothes too, also made from silk, very stiff and very heavy. Sasuke bought the magazine as a present for Naruto, who devoured it and searched the pictures for people he knew. “There's Choji”, he said. “And Sakura! And there's Sai, seems he's part of Danzou's bodyguard. - Have you seen Kakashi anywhere? I guess he was not admitted to the wedding, as he's no longer a ninja.”

Sasuke felt weird, looking at the pictures. So this was what Sakura looked like now. Quite pretty, actually, though he was really no judge for female beauty. He looked at Choji, at Shikamaru, at Ino, who was a bridesmaid, but he did not feel anything. They had been his classmates and his comrades, but he had never been close to them. Naruto had told him who had joined the team to save him from escaping to Orochimaru, but he had never felt that it was himself whom they had risked their lives for. It had only been his outer shell that had been working for Konoha, while his true self had been suffering from the loss of his parents and longed for revenge. If they had really cared for him they'd have talked to him about his family, and they would have offered him support for his revenge. Naruto had always cared, and Sakura (who was the only person on the pictures he felt anything for) – well, she had improved with time, though she had often been really annoying.

Naruto looked at the pictures without moving. Tears ran down his cheeks, and Sasuke laid his arm around his shoulders and took his hand to comfort him even though he did not share his sorrow.

“If I had not had to flee to this place I could be celebrating with them”, Naruto said. 

Sasuke was quite content that Naruto was not celebrating with his friends from Konoha but sitting here with him in Music Town, but he remained silent and kept caressing Naruto's hands.

On the way to their dance class Naruto bought all the women's magazines and gossip papers he could find, and spread them out on the floor, so that he could see all the cover pages at once. The other men, when they arrived, asked him what he was doing.

“The groom's one of our former classmates” Sasuke explained. 

“Really? And he married a princess? Must be great, suddenly having a famous friend. He looks stately in his formal attire.”

Others had a look too, and made stupid comments about the good looks of the young ninja, while Naruto was looking for even more people he knew. 

“You miss them”, someone said, finally noticing that Naruto did not care about the beautiful clothes of the wedding guests. Naruto nodded. 

“Have you considered going too?” the guy from Earth Country asked. “It was not in Konoha, but in Suna, wasn't it?”

Naruto shook his head. He had not considered it – he had not even known the exact date of the wedding. No one had considered inviting him.

“It would have been too risky”, Sasuke said. “Danzou was there too.”

They might have made use of the opportunity to kill him without being punished, as the Kazekage might have protected them, he thought. 

“I guess he would have made sure that none of the Leaf nin were able to talk to them”, the man's husband contradicted. “Being there and not being allowed to talk to their friends would have been worse than not going at all.” 

“He won't last forever”, the guy from Earth Country said, patting Naruto's shoulder. “His power is waning, and you are not so much banished as you have escaped to freedom. Even now, it's easier for you to travel around, if you just avoid Fire Country, then it's for your friends to leave Konoha.”

Sasuke wanted to say that they would make sure that Danzou would not last forever, but he decided against it, realizing that not all of the men were close friends. 

Juugo's fostermothers showed more patience looking at the wedding pictures and listening to Naruto when he told them the names of his friends. In the end, however, their little daughters claimed the magazines for themselves: They were mostly interested in the women's beautiful clothes.

Naruto also told the mothers of his bad luck with his story about the Rikudou Sennin.

They shrugged: “There'll always be people who are not content with what you say. Don't grow any grey hair – it's far too pretty as it's now.”

“So you think I should continue talking about the Rikudou?”

“No, better not. Don't provoke the parents. They're irrational, but it's better not to provoke them. I mean, you did not inflict any harm to the children, or indoctrinate them, so there's no reason for a bad conscience. You just told them a story about the merits of cooperation over fighting each other. That's not exactly some arcane knowledge, accessible only to a few select people. These parents only don't want their kids to learn that the Rikudou Sennin was all in all a decent person. They want their kids to hate him because he founded a religion, or at least a religion different from their own.”

Naruto's confusion grew: The Rikudou Sennin had been a good man, hadn't he, dreaming of peace and salvation, so why should anyone hate him?

“But they want their kids to learn about peace”, he said. “Why do they want us to confine ourselves to teaching taijutsu, which is basically fighting, but not tell them about the origins of ninjutsu, which are really about peace.”

“They think that practising taijutsi in itself helps you to find inner peace, and that you don't have to know the philosophical system it's based on. It's quite a widespread belief”, the woman said. “Maybe you should ask them yourself.”

“And you may ask them whether there are other persons they prefer as heroes of stories about peace and cooperation”, her partner added. “Some political leader perhaps, or a fictive character or the founder of the religion they themselves believe in.” 

“But what if the founders of these religions did not believe in peaace or salvation?” Naruto asked.

“Oh, most of them did. Most religions start being about peace and salvation and only later change in character.”

Naruto thought about it. Religion in the ninja countries was definitely not about peace and salvation. People went to temples for ceremonies, of if they wanted divine support for a mission, or for some loved ones they were concerned about. When he had been very young Naruto had sometimes sneaked into a temple when no one else was inside, and lit a candle, hoping that it would take away the hatred people bore against him. Once a priest had caught him and driven him out of the temple, calling him a thief. Naruto had not known that you were meant to pay for the candles. Later he had rather trusted in his friends, and in himself, than in any of the gods that were honoured in the temples of Konoha. He wondered whether these Gods had anything to do with the Rikudou Sennin. He hoped not. 

With his eyes he searched for Sasuke, who had got him into this mess, first by telling him to get the book about the Rikudou Sennin from the library and then by suggesting to him to tell one of its stories to the kids: but Sasuke was far away, having gone to play with Juugo's fostersisters. It was an unusual thing for him to do, as normally he found these girls a little scary: They were all too girlish, and too confident in their girlishness. (He did not have any problems with the girls from their taijutsu class, though they were about the same age, just not that girlish. Naruto also felt uncomfortable around Juugo's fostersisters, but he was better at keeping him at a distance: Sensing Sasuke's insecurity the girls had grown a fancy for him.) 

This day, however, it had been Sasuke who had addressed them, asking them to show thim their books about horses and to tell him more about these strong and gracious animals, and they had taken him to their corner of the garden where they had shown him their farm of toy horses. 

“It's not a real farm for rice or vegetables”, they said. “It's a place where women and girls live with horses, and girls who are unhappy living in a town may come and join them.” 

Sasuke found the concept rather strange, but he decided to discuss it with the mothers rather than the daughters. For the moment he was content listening to the girls as they told him the names of the horses and the different breeds and how to care for them.

Naruto did not feel like joining his friend. He looked out for Juugo and the other boys, so that he might play football with them, but they had gone to the swimming-pool with some of their friends. Juugo's mothers were busy washing the dishes. 

Not knowing what to do he took Sasuke's history book that was lying on the bench. Sasuke had brought it to read it after lunch when everyone was too tired to talk, but now he was playing with the girls instead. Naruto had long waited for an opportunity to read this book without Sasuke watching him. He started at the beginning, but soon he grew bored with reading about the negotiations that accompanied the foundation of Konoha and the establishment of the ninja system and turned to the parts he was truly interested in: Whether Nagato and Yahiko had really been rebels (they had, leading a rebellion against Hanzo who had been the head of a Quisling regime installed by Danzou), and then to the end of the book, curious how much of his own lifetime was covered. 

He was lucky: Just the last chapter of the book was on the kyuubi's attack. (Sasuke would have to get a newer one to learn what people here knew about the Uchiha massacre.) Nervously he searched for the first page of the chapter:

After Konoha's defeat in the Third Ninja World War people naturally sought for explanations. Tragically, a large fraction was accessible to propaganda that it had all been the fault of the Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been too soft and too indecisive to crush Konoha's enemies in one forceful blow. Small tactical mistakes were overblown to tragically harmful choices, decisions that turned out wise in hindsight were dismissed as cowardly or simply not mentioned. The most popular accusation, however, was that contrary to its opponents Konoha had not provided over a bijuu. After the devastations of the Second Ninja World War Sarutobi had decided against a new jinchuuriki, a decision that was supported by the majority of the population of Konoha at the time. But now the pendulum changed direction and more and more people thought that this choice had unnecessarily weakened Konoha and demanded that Sarutobi should resign. Moderate voices who pointed out that none of the other countries had actually used their bijuu were silenced. 

To his opponents' surprise, however, the Sandaime managed to turn his resignation into a last victory by suggesting Namikaze Minato as his successor. As a popular war hero Namikaze was supported by the whole population of Konoha, except for those on the extreme left and the extreme right. Gaining the approval of the daimyou and the relevant institutions of Konoha was just a formality, and the hawks in the administration of the Leaf had gained nothing by forcing the Sandaime to resign. 

Naruto stopped reading: He had expected the Yondaime to share his family name, Uzumaki. Then he remembered that for this, people would have had to know that he was the Sandaime's son. His father had told him that his life would have been in danger if people had known the truth about his descent. Maybe he should reclaim his right name now, Naruto thought, here in Music Town where he was not threatened. 

He turned to the pictures: There were a lot of them, showing the Sandaime, Danzou, the two councillors and the Yondaime, his father. He kept staring at the latter: He had never seen a photo of him, only his stone portrait on the Hokage mountain.

“That's quite a good-looking man”, one of the mothers said, returning from the kitchen with some coffee after doing the dishes and sitting down next to Naruto.

“He's my father”, Naruto said. 

“Is he?” She looked at Naruto, then at the picture. 

“I should have guessed. You take after him.”

“Thanks.” Naruto smiled and blushed and turned again to the picture. 

“Does he know that you are in Music Town and that you have fallen in love?” the woman continued to ask. 

Naruto shook his head. “He's dead. He was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.”

“Oh. I had not thought that your father was such an important person. Well, he must have been, if you can find his photo in a history book.”

Her partner had now joined them. “What about your mother?” she asked. “Does she know you're here? What does she think about you having turned out gay?” 

Naruto shook his head again. “She's dead too. I don't have any conscious memories of her. I don't know how she died, or when. She might even be alive, living in a place far away from Konoha.”

“You grew up without both your parents?” The woman asked. “Who has looked after you then?” 

“The nurses in the central orphanage of Konoha, I guess”, Naruto answered. “I have hardly any memories of the time. My memories set in when I had to leave the orphanage and get my own place at the time when I entered the ninja academy.”

“How old were you then?” 

“Six, I think.”

Both women looked shocked. One of them took his hand, the other lay her arm around his shoulders. Naruto felt tempted to explain to them that it was all okay and that in Konoha standards were different, just what he had told the husband of the guy from Earth Country after informing him that he had been an orphan for all his life. He decided against it (partly because Sasuke was busy playing with the girls and would not see him being comforted.) He had suffered a lot, so the women's sympathy was appropriate, and it did him well, but it also hurt, reminding him of sufferings he did his best to forget. 

“Wasn't there anyone to take you in?” one of the women asked. 

He shook his head. “I was turned into a jinchuuriki during the kyuubi's attack”, he said. “I was my village's ultimate weapon that could explode at any time. People were afraid of me and would not dare to go near me.”

The women looked even more shocked, and also confused, but they did not seem to be afraid. The arm around his shoulders remained where it was.

“How can a human being be a weapon?” the arm's owner asked.

“By containing a bijuu within him”, Naruto answered. “In my case it was the kyuubi that attacked Konoha at the time of my birth.”

He turned the pages of the history book, searching for a picture of the demon fox, but there was none. However he found a photo of the site of the fight after it was over: Amidst torn up trees, broken boulders and deep clefts in the earth there was the corpse of the Yondaime and, in some metres' distance, he himself, Naruto, just as tiny as their friend's nephew on the photo he had shown them. Naruto had never seen a picture of himself as a baby and seeing one came as a shock: The loneliness and the desolation of the child on this place devoid of all human and non-human life overwhelmed him, and for the first time he just could not help feeling sorry for himself.

“That's me”, he told the two mothers, then his voice broke.   
A/N: asm613: Thanks for your comments! You have spotted an important point – it's already included into my plan. If you enable private messages, I will tell you more. 

Else: My break got longer than I originally intended, as I had forgotten to ask my beta about her vacation. She left just when I arrived from my own vacation. But this does not mean that I intend to abandon my story, just the opposite, I have written the first drafts of a lot more chapters, and I have also done some planning. 

I have been cycling during my vacation, taking a long distance cycling track (the Flanders Route). These long distance tracks tend to take a lot of turns and detours meaning that if you think that a place is near there will still be some extras before you actually arrive. I fear that the same has happened to my story – it's getting longer and longer as I think and dream about it, with new people and some extra turns. But I have a plan, with a clear aim and some clear landmarks on the plan, and we have already passed a number of these landmarks, and I have passed even more landmarks in the chapters I wrote during my vacations. I plan to finish the story.

I just hope that I finish my story before the canon ends. Rewriting the chapter was a bit weird – I had written the first draft when before the most recent revelations. As I say, I have a plan, and the plan includes some revelations about the past. My stories deviates from the canon after the fight against Pain, and everything that comes after this fight, including backflashes and revelations is an inspiration to me, but will only be included if it fits into my own plan.


	68. Chapter Sixty-Five: It happens here, too

Even though he was playing with Juugo's fostersisters Sasuke still noticed when Naruto hid his face in his hands. The mothers patted Naruto's shoulders, and the little girls, also noticing that something was wrong with Naruto, ran to him and climbed onto the bench to embrace him. The picture of the lonely baby lying next to the dead man made them fall silent immediately.

Sasuke was too old to run when he didn't happen to play football. He was also a bit worried about all these females comforting Naruto, but when he arrived the mothers told their daughters to make room for him, so that he might sit next to his friend. He laid his arms around him, and seeing the picture he understood Naruto's sorrow. He was not as shocked as the two women and their daughters, mostly because he had seen it before and also because he knew about Naruto's childhood. 

“Why is this child all alone?” one of the little girls asked, apparently not understanding that the child was Naruto.

“His parents have died”, her mother answered.

“And now?”

“People will come and pick him up and care for him.”

The girl looked very serious and worried, trying hard to integrate what she had heard into her idea of the world. Her mother laid her arm around her shoulder and caressed her cheeks: Both of them know that for a child it's the end of the world if the parents die, Sasuke thought, but they don't think that it might happen to themselves. For him and Naruto it was real. He drew him closer to himself, caressing his shoulder and his hands and kissing his neck.

“It's a weird coincidence that both of you are orphans”, the other mother said. “But that's not the reason you became friends and lovers, is it?”

He thought about it. “Maybe, maybe not. They put us into one team when we became genin, so maybe they thought we might get along well.”

“But you haven't been an orphan for all your life, have you? Your have memories of your parents. Were they killed in battle too?” 

Sasuke shook his head. “They were murdered.”

“Murdered!” 

People in Music Town were all too predictable in their reactions, Sasuke thought. Still he enjoyed the women's shock. Looking into the faces of the little girls, however, he had a bit of a bad conscience... But the girls were not as vulnerable as he thought: After a short time the first of them had regained her ability to talk and ask questions: 

“Did they catch the murderer?” 

“Who?” 

“The police.”

His clan had been the police, Sasuke thought. Itachi's strike had eradicated it. The thought hurt, but he had to get a grip on himself in order not to disturb the girl even more.

“I caught him”, he said. 

Both the girls and their mothers looked shocked. 

“Was this not dangerous? He killed your family after all, so he might have killed you too.”

Sasuke felt offended, not getting the respect he thought he deserved. They care, he thought, and then he remembered his own mother who had also always failed to acknowledge his achievements and instead told him to be careful, and he felt reconciled with their behaviour. 

“I may seem young in your eyes, but I am a capable ninja”, he said. “I can fight for myself.”

He did not need to tell them that he had almost died during the fight against Itachi and that he would have died if Itachi had not broken down from some illness.

“And then?” the women asked. “Did you take him back to Konoha? Was he put to trial in the end?”

Sasuke shook his head. There were trials in Konoha, he thought, though the ones he had heard of had all been about minor crimes. But murderers were put to trial too, weren't they? Itachi had been questioned about the death of Shisui... 

“He was from ANBU”, Sasuke said. “He could not be arrested except on orders from the Hokage.”

“What is ANBU?”

“The Assassination Squad of Konoha: They are only responsible to the Hokage himself.”

The women looked – not really shocked, Sasuke thought, but rather disturbed. “I am sorry”, one of them finally said. “I tend to forget that you are ninja and that sometimes ninja are sent on missions to kill people. It makes sense that someone who accepts such a job needs to know that he won't be put to trial for it.”

Her partner was not so ready to accept this: “It's still creepy that people are allowed to hire killers and get away with it.”

Both women had obvious difficulties to come to terms with the information. 

“The Hokage has to consent”, the first woman said. “So there's at least one hurdle that has to be taken, and one cannot simply buy a murderer.”

“But if he alone has the power to decide over life or death of people he can have them killed simply for his own political advantage, and no one can control him.”

Both were thoughtful.

“Don't think it doesn't happen here, too”, the first woman finally said. “We just don't hear about it.”

They were silent for some minutes.

“Does this mean that the Hokage gave his consent to your family's murder”, the second woman then asked Sasuke, finally putting two and two together. “Then it makes sense that the murderer was not put to trial.”

Sasuke had never considered it. After the massacre his only thought had been that he wanted to pay back to Itachi what he had done to him, to hurt him and leash out against him and destroy him. It had never occured to him that Itachi might have been captured by someone else and then be put to trial, and no one had ever suggested it to him. He would not have wanted it: he had wanted to triumph over Itachi and to show him that finally he had become stronger: so strong that he might have protected his family against his brother. 

Cautiously he tried to imagine how as a child he might have felt if people had presented Itachi to him, saying “we'll put him to trial now.”

He shook his head. The government of Konoha had ordered the murder. They would not have put Itachi to trial.

Naruto was listening to the conversation too, after recovering first from his pain and then from his annoyance that Sasuke had again managed to get all the attention for himself. He had never given much thought to ANBU. They hunted down criminals and rogue ninja and other people who were dangerous to Konoha or to Fire Country, and he had never doubted that their work was a valuable contribution to the safety of his village, though of course he had hoped that Sasuke would not get hunted down and killed. He himself was a rogue nin now, but only because of Danzou. He wondered why the two women thought it creepy that the Hokage had the right to decide over the legitimacy of ANBU missions: Who else should do it? The problem was not the system but the fact that Danzou was Hokage. 

He was on the point of explaining this to the two women when he remembered that the Sandaime had given his consent to the murder of Sasuke's family. 

The next day he ceased to think about the problem. He was more interested in what the women had told him about religion, and with Karin he went to the library to borrow some books with titles as “religions of the world”. They turned out to be either too thick and complicated for his taste, ot too thin, containing more pictures than text. Juugo's fostermothers suggested to him that he might visit the local congregations of the various religions of Music Town and learn by listening to people instead of reading books.

It became his new project that kept him busy for quite some time. Sasuke did not accompany him on these occasions, but he listened to Naruto in the evenings when he told him of his adventures. He had never been very religious: Together with his family he had attended the ceremonies on important holidays but after the massacre he had stopped this, and begun to disdain religion, and Naruto's tales of his encounter with the various priests of the local religions did not change his attitude. When Naruto told him that people believed that there were gods, or one god, who loved all people, he felt not comforted but hurt: his family, including himself and Itachi, obviously had not been loved, or the massacre would not have happened. The idea of karma was equally hurtful, as it implied that they had all deserved to die. 

He was restless these days, and sometimes a bit depressed. Naruto dreamt of peace and was busy learning about the various religions both of Music Town and the world, but he himself was without any project. For some time, seducing Naruto had been his project, but now he had accomplished it, and though he really enjoyed being in love with Naruto and having sex with him he no longer dreamt of sex at moments when he was not actually engaged in having it. The task of finding a plan to take down Danzou he had delegated to Naruto, so this was no longer a project of his, either. Sometimes he considered working out a plan by himself, as Naruto was obviously not making any progress, but he did not have any idea how to kill Danzou and not be executed for it. Besides, taunting Naruto about not being able to come up with a suitable plan was much more fun. 

Also when he thought of leaving Music Town in order to take Danzou out of office he could not help feeling sad. He loved the place, more than Naruto did, he liked people here and wanted to mix with them and to be liked by them in return. Killing Danzou and then being killed for it had ceased to be a desirable future.


	69. Chapter Sixty-Six: Defending their friends

They had gone to the cinema with some of their friends: some fellow dancers, to be exact, among them the guy from Earth Country and his husband. Sasuke and Naruto had watched various movies on DVD by now, mostly gay romantic comedies and action flics. There were gay action flics too, but compared to the mainstream ones they were looked as if the producers lacked money, resulting in special effects that were all too easy to see through, so they stuck to the mainstream ones.

The movie they had been invited to was also an action flic, and a mainstream one, but their friends explained to them that the good looks of the lead actor almost made it a gay movie. Being still young and considering each other sufficiently handsome Sasuke and Naruto did not care much about the looks of the actor. They were looking forward to the action, but also to the cinema itself as neither of them had ever been to any cinema before. Even Jiraiya had not cared to take Naruto to the movies in one of the capitals of the ninja countries they had been to, but had rather gone to some R-rated movies by himself and told Naruto to train in the hotel. (He had been a great teacher during the day, however.) 

They took in everything: the red curtains, the darkness, the popcorn and the trailers before the movie started. They allowed themselves to be overwhelmed by the music that surrounded them and by the pictures that spread over their whole field of vision. Soon they were captured by the movie's plot, more than ever when they had been watching a DVD. It was about an attempted assault against an evil dictator in some foreign country, and it was more realistic than any movie they had ever watched before. They soon stopped participating in their friends' jokes, Naruto snuggled to Sasuke and held his hands, while Sasuke in his turn stiffened and pressed Naruto's hands so hard that it hurt. When the assault failed and the conspirators got executed it was Naruto who pressed Sasuke against himself and began kissing his cheeks and his neck. 

Their friends had to remind them to leave the cinema, yet luckily they soon realized that jokes about no longer being fourteen and no longer needing the cinema as a safe space to make out were not appropriate: both boys were too much affected by the movie. They left them alone on their way home, discussing whether the actor looked as good as he had ten or twenty years ago, and their chatter provided a comforting background for the boys' darker thoughts, reassuring them that they were safely in Music Town and neither in Konoha nor the evil place of the movie. Yet they also knew that they did not belong to Music Town and that they would not stay forever. 

They did not pay much attention to their surroundings. Neither did they notice that they were walking through an area of town they hardly knew. They also walked with their arms around each other's hips and shoulders, not noticing that their friends avoided showing any signs of affection and did not even hold hands. Finally one of their friends warned them.

“You should be careful here. It's a dangerous quarter for gay people.”

Naruto stared at him blankly: “What do you mean dangerous?”

“People have been beaten up here.”

“Not us”, Naruto replied. 

The man sought for a reply, and an explanation why the boys' behaviour was still not advisable, but while he was searching for words the danger he had spoken of had already arrived in the form of a group of young men blocking the way, both more numerous and more muscular than their own group. Sasuke's and Naruto's friends were already retreating, but unlike the football fans of the opposing team they had almost got into a row with some time ago these young men would not retreat in their turn: They were not content with some provocations, they were looking for a real fight, or rather an easy victory over what they considered weak opponents. 

Both boys sensed it, and they also sensed that to retreat further was a mistake. They let go of each other to be better able to fight but Naruto kept holding Sasuke's hand in his left hand. Sasuke was left-handed, he remembered – it was quite convenient now. 

They looked at each other and smiled. It had been a long time since they had last fought side by side. 

Naruto took off his jacket and passed it to one of their friends. He knew he looked impressive.

“Spent too much time in the gym”, one of the young men said. “But that's not where you gain real muscles. Real muscles come from fighting.”

For a second Naruto was confused, then he got a grip on himself again: “Certainly”, he said. “And now, if you will please let us pass. We don't have all night to stay.”

He proceeded, still holding Sasuke's hand. For a split second a gap opened in the line of young men, an automatic reaction to Naruto's determination, then it closed again. When they finally clashed everything went very quickly: Sasuke placed a genjutsu on one of the men, the other were defeated with taijutsu. They took care not to hit any vital points, or cause any serious injuries, just take them out so that they were no longer able to fight. Most of their opponents gave up when they saw that they were facing capable fighters. 

“You're really ninja”, one of their friends said.

“I told you so”, Naruto answered.  
“They did not think that gay men are able to strike back”, another of their group said. “Must have been a new experience.”

The husband of the guy from Earth Country was missing, but now he returned with two policewomen in tow, just when the men who had attacked them were gettng back to their feet.

“Now, what happened?” the policewomen asked.

“They provoked us, and then they attacked us”, the man who had spoken to Naruto said. 

The policewoman raised her eyebrows, but she proceeded to ask the young men for details, while she took a pencil and a notebook from her pockets.

The other woman turned to the group of gay men.  
“Now you tell me your version of events”, she said. 

One of the men explained how the group of young men had blocked the way and then threatened to attack them.   
“The two boys fought them off”, they said.

“They alone?” 

“They are highly skilled at martial arts.”

“Is that true?” 

Naruto nodded and she wrote it down and then went to her colleague to compare notes.

“You are accused of using weapons, and unfair tricks”, she said when she returned. 

“We did not. We don't need weapons to defeat a bunch of men who never had any proper training.”

She wrote down Naruto's answer. “So they blocked the way and you proceeded anyway to force your passage?”

“We were defending our friends”, Naruto said, finally understanding that he was being interrogated. “There's nothing wrong with this, is there?” 

“Self-defense is okay”, the woman answered. “But it needs to be in proportion, and we need to make sure that you really only defended yourselves and your friends.”

“They attacked us, not the other way round. Why don't you question them?”

“We did, and their version differs from yours. Yours is more coherent, though. Now we have to test you for alcohol.”

“I'm not drunk! I haven't drunk anything! You should be able to see this!”

“We have to test everyone”, the woman insisted. She took out a decice people had to blow into. She begun with the other men to make it easier for Naruto. The men seemed rather bored, but they did not protest. A few of them had drunk quite a lot, but there was no law against drinking. It took credibility from their testimony, however.

“You better give in”, the guy from Earth Country said.

“But why?” Naruto asked. “I haven't done anything wrong, have I?”

“It's the rules”, the man insisted. 

Naruto gave in, knowing that he did not have any choice. Sasuke did not show his indignation openly, but he, too, felt humiliated when he had to blow into the testing device. It showed correctly that neither Naruto nor he had drunk anything. 

Sasuke was fascinated by what was going on, to the point that he forgot that he himself was involved in the conflict and not just an observer. He watched how the men who had attacked them, all of them strong and heavy and confident of their fighting skills, were obeying the orders of a woman without offering any attempt of resistance, not counting that they kept talking and trying to convince her of their version of events. Sasuke tried his Sharingan on her to see whether she was using a special trick, but the only one he could detect was that she was shutting out the men's words in order not to get influenced by them. The men kept talking even when they were made to lift their arms so that she could search them for weapons. 

“Is that not a bit indecent?” Sasuke asked her colleague, who was standing next to him, watching with him the other policewoman.

“Would you prefer to be searched by a man?” she asked.

He hesitated for a moment. “Yes, I would.”

The policewoman who had done the searching came over with a collection of knives. She gave them to her colleague and went over to Naruto to search him. He looked shocked, but he obeyed and lifted his arms. “My friend also prefers to be searched by a man”, Sasuke said.

The policewoman stopped her activity and looked questioningly at Naruto. His face was without any expression, except some surprise and annoyance at Sasuke who had again spoken on his behalf. She let go off him and joined her colleague.

“I don't want to be searched at all”, Naruto said. “I don't have any weapons. I don't need them.”

“You were accused of using weapons”, the woman said. “So we have to check you.”

“Why don't you understand that it was them who attacked us, and not the other way around?”, Naruto asked.

“We understand that this is your version of events. But we have to find out what really happened. You'll come with us to the police-station so that one of our male colleagues may search you. Both of you.”

Only now Sasuke fully realized that the question whether he would prefer to be searched by a man had not been purely theoretical. Just like Naruto he felt humiliated and feared the procedure, even though he knew that he did not have any weapon with him. At the same time he was curious to see a policeman as so far he had only met female members of the police of Music Town. 

Both the guy from Earth Country and his husband were in shock. “We'll accompany them”, the latter said. “They're staying with us as our guests. They are not from Music Town and don't know about our customs.”

“Well, certainly in Konoha we don't know of any custom that the police arrests you for defending your friends”, Naruto said. 

“This is because there hasn't been any police in Konoha after my family got murdered”, Sasuke replied.

The two women looked confused, but they did not answer. They went around taking down names including those of a few witnesses who had watched the scene from their windows and then come down to testify. Everyone except Naruto and Sasuke was now free to go home, only the guy from Earth Country and his husband stayed voluntarily.

“Why don't you arrest the men who attacked us, instead of bothering us?” Naruto asked.

“We've taken down their names and addresses, that's enough”, the women replied, quite annoyed by now. “And we haven't arrested you either. If you agree ot have one of us search you for weapons you can go home too.”

“And what about my friend?” 

“He'd still have to come with us, as he prefers to be searched by a man.”

“I won't forsake my friend”, Naruto said. 

The women shrugged, and they all set off to the police-station, where a middle-aged man without uniform was sitting behind a desk waiting for his colleagues. 

“How did it go?” he asked them.

The women told him, and he chuckled. “You beat them”, he said. “I guess it was a nasty surprise. They'll think twice now before they again attack a group of gay men.”

Naruto smiled, for the first time since the arrival of the policewomen at the site of the fight. 

“The young men insist that it should be a man who searches them for weapons”, the woman said.

“But you believe us!” Naruto protested. “So why do you have to search us?”

“It's a formality, but we have to do it in order to confirm your version of events”, the man said, standing up and coming to them from behind his desk. “Come on. Have you never been checked for weapons when you went to a disco?” 

“What's a disco?” Naruto asked. 

“The boys aren't from here”, the husband of the guy from Earth Country explained. “A disco is a place for dancing and drinking and hooking up with girls. Some people have tried to open one specifically for gay men but it hasn't been successful. Most people prefer parties organized by the community.”

“People take weapons with them when they go dancing?” 

“Some do. It's not allowed, though. That's why they're searched.”

“Now let's get it over with”, the man said. 

It was embarrassing, but it was over in a few seconds, with the expected result. They sat down and were invited to a cup of coffee.

“They'll be put to trial, and then they'll get punished”, one of the women answered. “It won't be too harsh, however, as no one got hurt. Maybe they'll be ordered to buy a bouquet of flowers and apologize to you, and thank you that by defending yourselves you prevented them from injuring anyone, which would have led to a harsher indictment.”

“Maybe they'll have to do some hours of communal work”, the other woman added. “Probably at the gay community center. Those who join such a clique only in order to appear cool often change their mind when they actually talk to some gay people. It does not work of course with those who are convinced that beating up gay people is a moral action.”

“You place people who hate gays and beat them up in a gay community center?” Naruto said, shocked. “What if they start fights?”

“They won't. They don't attack if they're outnumbered. Don't worry: People at the community center are used to dealing with them.”

“We'll also contact victims of former assaults, where the attackers could not be identified”, the male officer said. “Maybe they will recognize one of the men who attacked you. Then they'll get convicted for these crimes, too.”

Sasuke nodded, as the last point made sense to him. The rest did not: he found the town's way of dealing with criminals very weird. He wondered whether they would also have ordered Itachi to buy him a bunch of flowers and apologize. But so far everyone he had talked to had been shocked when they had heard that his clan had been murdered. Maybe they did not have any really serious crimes in Music Town, Sasuke mused, only crimes that could be dealt with by telling people to buy flowers and apologize. 

“May I ask you a question?” he asked the male officer. 

“Go ahead!”

“Are there more men at the police? Except you I've only seen women.”

“Really? That must have been a coincidence. It's a bit less than fifty percent men now. It used to be almost only men, but the job has been getting more and more popular with women.”

“Then why do you send them out to fight while you remain behind your desk?”

“Why should it be only men who do the dirty and dangerous jobs, for the same payment as the women?” the policeman asked back. “Actually we have discovered that women are quite good at dealing with potentially violent situations. A lot of men have a natural inhibition that prevents them from fighting women, so women have a higher chance of resolving the situation in a non-violent way.”

Sasuke understood this as he shared this inhibition.

“If it comes to any real fighting they still need us of course”, the man continued.

Both women protested. “We can fight, too”, they said. “We've been trained at martial arts as well.”

Sasuke still doubted that they would have defeated their attackers if there had been any real fighting.

“So there's no need to fight off the aggressors yourselves. Rather call the police”, the women said. 

“But how?” Naruto asked. “You would not have been there in time.”

“There's a system of emergency buttons. We receive the signal and rush to the place it came from. Your friends will explain it to you. There's really no need to act he hero.”

Naruto looked stupefied.

“I pressed one of these buttons”, the husband of the guy from Earth Country explained. “This is how we deal with emergencies here.”

“So it's wrong here to defend one's friends”, Naruto said. 

“Self-defense is okay, but it's wiser if you refrain from fighting and call the police. Withdraw to the next emergency button and engage the offenders in talking. Only fight if it's absolutely unavoidable in order to avert damage from yourselves or your friends. It's less heroic, but it's safer and more effective.”

Naruto looked as if he still had difficulties to accept it.

“We'll show them the system”, the guy from Earth Country said. “But now we have to go home, I think.”

“We just need your names, in case we need to contact you again.”

Sasuke considered putting a genjutsu on her: just a small, painless one that would make her think that he and Naruto had already shown her their documents. It would not work, he realized, as he had no idea what official documents of Music Town looked like.

“Here's my ID”, the guy from Earth Country said. His husband showed his, too. “As we said, the boys are not from here, and they are our guests. They don't have their documents with them.”

“You already told us: They are from Konoha”, one of the women said. “How long do you intend to stay?” 

She looked at the boys, but it was the guy from Earth Country who answered. “They don't know yet. Things don't look good in Konoha these days.”

“They are lucky they got out”, the woman agreed. “We would appreciate it if you stayed at least until the case is solved.”

“But it is solved, isn't it?” Naruto said. “They attacked us.”

“It's not up to us to decide this”, the woman said. “And we may need you as witnesses. So have a nice stay here in Music Town!”

“Yes, thanks”, the guy from Earth Country said, standing up and urging Naruto to stand up, too. His husband did the same with Sasuke. “We wish you a nice evening, or rather that in the second half of the night things stay calmer than in the first half.”

“Ah, never mind, it's easier not to fall asleep when something happens. Good night!” 

Both men now gently pushed the boys out of the police station. There the guy from Earth Country took a deep breath.


	70. Chapter Sixty-Seven: Advice

“So let's go home now”, Naruto said. “Thanks for coming with us, and sorry for taking so much of your time.”

“Never mind”, the guy from Earth Country answered. “And you should now come with us for a glass of wine. You're our guests, after all.”

Naruto looked confused. “But you only said this so that the police would leave us alone, didn't you? We are not really your guests.”

“You are – this evening”, the man insisted. 

“It's not necessary”, Naruto replied. “We know it's late. And you don't have to thank us for fighting for you. It's what we're taught in Konoha.”

“This is not Konoha”, the man said. “And you are our guests.”

Finally Naruto understood that there was no way of turning down the invitation and agreed to come with them.

They had never been at their friends's place. It was small and crowded, but also cosy. They were invited to sit in the kitchen, and as promised they were served some wine. Neither the guy from Earth Country nor his husband spoke: both of them had been silent from the moment Naruto had accepted the invitation. Only when they had all settled down around the table the guy from Earth Country finally spoke:

“You should really apply for official status now.”

Naruto shook his head. “We've told you our stories. Both of us left Konoha without permission. Sasuke is an official rogue nin, and listed in the bingo book of Konoha's ANBU. It's too dangerous.”

“Too dangerous!” the local-born of the two men broke out. Both boys realized only now how he had struggled hard to contain his anger from the moment they had left the police-station. “Too dangerous! You get involved in a fight, you get picked up by the police, you ask to be taken to the police-station because you insist on being searched for weapons by a male officer, you chat amiably with people there – but it's too dangerous to apply for official status. What were you thinking?”

“We had to defend you”, Naruto said. “And we did not tell our names.” He felt both confused and hurt. 

“We've covered up for you, if you haven't noticed”, the man continued. “We lied for you. We may get into trouble if the police decides to check on us to see whether you are really staying with us.”

“You can still set it right by applying for official status now”, the guy from Earth country said, somewhat calmer than his husband. “The policewoman at the station expected it from you. Just do it.”

“If local authorities ever find out that you live and work here without official permission and without official status you are in deep trouble, and the restaurant you work for too. Every encounter with the police, no matter how trivial, may lead to your expulsion.”

They would survive it, Sasuke thought. He and his team had survived in the wilderness for quite some time. He could live there again, this time with Naruto, if he had too. 

“They won't dare to expel us”, Naruto said. “We are too strong.”

“They can do a lot of things beyond fighting. Your patroness may fire you, and turn you out of your flat, for example.”

Both boys imagined it. 

“Just apply! If there's something you're afraid of you may first go to one of those initiatives that support political refugees. But as I said: Normally being gay is enough to be accepted. If you finally have some official documents life will be much easier for you. You can get a library card, you can ask for better payment, as your patroness is no longer able to blackmail you, you can consider going to school.”

“Why should we want to go to school?” Naruto asked. 

“To learn something”, the guy from Earth Country replied. “To get some degrees that are of some value here.”

“We have our degrees”, Naruto replied. “We are ninja with certificates of the ninja academy of Konoha.”

“That's what I mean. We aren't a ninja village, so people can't legally employ you as ninja. You'll have to learn something else, if you don't always want to work as waiters.”

We could found some taijutsu school, Sasuke thought. 

“What's wrong about being waiters?” Naruto asked. 

“It's not a job you want to do for your whole life.”

“Of course not. I intend to become Hokage of Konoha.”

“Yes. Sorry. I forgot.”

They still did not take their plans seriously, Sasuke thought. At least Naruto had managed to silence them. But the silence only lasted for a short time.

“It will take a long time until you can become Hokage. In the meantime you should do something meaningful.”

“It won't take a long time”, Naruto contradicted him. “I'll see to it myself. I've promised Sasuke.”

Both men looked at Sasuke, waiting for an explanation.

“Danzou shall not live happily ever after until he dies from a natural cause”, Sasuke said. “He shall be held responsible for his crimes and learn that he cannot take out the Uchiha clan without facing retribution.”

Listening to his own words he realized that he had not spoken of killing Danzou. People here put offenders to trial, he thought. He wondered whether there were worse punishments than being forced to buy a bunch of flowers and apologize. 

“This is why it won't do to wait for too long,” Naruto explained. “Danzou is old. If we wait for too long he will die by himself.”

The men still looked confused. “You're really from some fairy-tale”, the local-born of the two said. “A fairy-tale where the hero has to slay some monsters before the heroine is ready to marry him.”

Just as in the Gutsy Ninja, Sasuke thought.

“You're lucky that Sasuke hasn't heard about staying a virgin until marriage”, the guy from Earth Country continued his husband's musings. “Or has he promised you something else? Some tantric sex with multiple cosmic orgasms? You're bound to know about it, being ninja...”

Some time ago Sasuke and Naruto had met Karin, who had told them about the new seminar on tantric sex she was giving, funnily to a class that consisted solely of women, but only one lesbian couple among them.

“He has promised to me that he won't do anything stupid by himself”, Naruto said.

“And so you're now going to do something stupid together”, the guy from Earth Country said. 

There was a silence of a few minutes.

“You don't understand this”, Sasuke finally said, speaking very slowly. “You don't understand how it feels when all your family are dead and you're the only one left. You don't understand how it feels when your whole world is destroyed and you are left in the void. You don't understand how it feels when you and those you love are considered free game who might be killed by anyone and you yourself are expected to become an excellent ninja as if nothing had happened.”

“You don't understand that I have fled from Earth Country myself”, the guy from Earth Country interrupted him.

Sasuke bit his lip. He had forgotten that gay people were persecuted in some of the ninja countries. 

“I didn't lose my whole family, however”, the man continued.

Sasuke felt a bit softer now as he continued to speak.

“It's unbearable to think of those who were responsible for the murder that they are now living happily in Konoha, enjoying the fruits of their crimes: It is as if I accepted that they were right in murdering my family and that they would have been right if they had murdered me too.”

“No one says that murdering your family was okay”, the local-born of the two men said. “But don't throw away your own life in an attempt to take out Danzou. You are too precious for this.”

Sasuke shook his head. “It's no longer possible to throw away my life. My life ended when I found my parents lying dead on the floor of our house.”

“That's obviously not true”, the man replied. “Otherwise you would not sit here and talk to us.”

Sasuke was silent. 

“If you throw away your life, you confirm those who denied you the right to live. If you insist on living you refute them”, the man continued. 

Sasuke tried to makes sense of this logic. He wondered whether the man thought that Danzou and his accomplices should go unpunished. 

“Your parents would have wanted you to be happy, I'm sure”, the man concluded.

“My parents would have wanted me to avenge them and restore the honour of the clan”, Sasuke replied, but even while he spoke he wondered whether this was true: His parents had expected him to become an excellent ninja, even if he had no chance at competing with Itachi, the genius, and else he had been expected to join the military police of Konoha, just as the rest of the clan, to live a decent life and perhaps found a family of his own. It had been the people who had looked after him after the clan's murder who had told him that now it was up to him to uphold the clan's honour.

The man got up to get another bottle of wine and some peanuts, and in passing, he laid his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. (Naruto watched and managed not to get upset.) 

“It's too early to try to remove Danzou from office”, the guy from Earth Country said. “He's still too powerful. You'd really just throw away your lives.”

He was looking at both of them now. 

“We are strong too”, Naruto said. “Actually we are among the strongest ninja of our generation. We are well able to defeat Danzou.”

“And then?” the man asked. “Do you have any plans to take over the government, once he's gone?”

Naruto shook his head. He was annoyed that he was being lectured, but also he was glad that he was confirmed in his opinion that it was impossible to take out the ruling Hokage of Konoha without getting punished for it. Only that this was a slightly different concern than taking over the government of Konoha.

“I got that you plan to take over as Hokage”, the man continued. “But this is not enough. You need a plan to gain control over all the relevant sections of the administration of Konoha. And you need allies. You remember the movie? There was a whole conspiracy, not just the man who carried out the assault. The two of you is not enough.”

“There's not much government in Konoha”, Sasuke answered. “Just the Hokage and his councillors.”

“So you plan to be a councillor?”

Sasuke felt confused – he had never thought of it, but he was certain that he did not want to be a councillor. Also, he had no idea how councillors were chosen or what their competences were.

“You see: You need more people. Also, you need a plan to convince the population of Konoha to follow you, once you've got rid of Danzou. Get in possession of the radio station and tell people that everything is under your control now and that they shall remain quiet and go on with their ordinary lives, until you will announce the changes in the way Konoha is governed. Just like in the movie.”

“We don't have a radio station in Konoha”, Naruto said. “We receive our program from the capital of Fire Country.”

“A balcony will do too. There must be some important public building with a balcony in Konoha.”

“The Hokage tower has one”, Naruto said. 

“That's the best option. You defeat Danzou, you go to the Hokage tower and proclaim to the people that Danzou's regime has ended and that you have taken over. You'll celebrate this appropriately, and else life shall go on as usual, but without Danzou's cruel and irresponsible orders. Would this work?”

“Probably not”, Naruto admitted. When he had thought about what would happen after their assault on Danzou he had thought of convincing people not to kill them, but not of announcing himself Hokage.

“You have to think of taking control of the military, so that they won't attack you immediately. Which sections of the military are there?”

“Konoha is military”, Naruto replied.

“You need allies who are able to convince them to take your side, or at least to remain neutral. What about the secret service?” 

“ANBU?” 

“You'd have to take control of that too. Police?” 

“It was never reinstated after my family's murder”, Sasuke said. 

“One thing less to worry about. But these are the points you have to consider if you want to remove Danzou from office and take over in Konoha.

“But I don't want to take over”, Naruto said. “I want people to support me. I want to be appointed Hokage in the regular way.”

He remembered Tsunade's inauguration: She had been appointed by the two councillors. And Danzou had been chosen by the Daimyou. Naruto definitely wanted neither of this.

“That's what I say: You need the support of people. First the support of the armed forces, then the support of the civilian population.”

“You have to gain the support of people before you attack Danzou”, the local-born of the two men added. “Or at least some influential figures of the population. Otherwise you won't be able to take over. I already told Sasuke when we spoke about the alleged conspiracy of his clan: Such a conspiracy was impossible, as his clan lacked support among the rest of the population.”

Naruto considered the men's words. They made sense, all in all.

“It won't work”, he finally said. “Nobody will support us if we kill Danzou.”

“People in the movie thought they could kill their country's leader and then take over”, Sasuke remarked. 

Both men thought about it for a while. 

“The system was extremely personalized”, the local-born of the two men said. “Also they were used to obeying to whatever authority there was. They would have been confused to find their government dead, and then obeyed to whoever claimed to be in charge.”

“The same goes for Konoha”, Sasuke said. “People are taught to obey and to follow orders. The people in the movie failed because they assault failed, and the assault failed because the assassin was a coward. He should have stayed to make sure that everything went according to plan, instead of running away, making his own safety his first priority.”

To Sasuke's astonishment Naruto came to his aid. 

“Yes, he should have stayed”, he said. “He failed to sacrifice himself for his country.”

Both men were shocked. “You don't sacrifice yourselves!” the local-born of the two said. “You apply for status as political refugees and then stay here and learn some decent profession!”


	71. Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Fifth Letter

When they had returned home Sasuke sat for a long time in front of the photo of his family. He pondered about his new friends' words: Your parents would have wanted you to be happy. Happiness was not a value in Konoha, but they would have wanted him content, fulfilling his duties towards the clan and the village. Now the duties towards the village had become meaningless and the duties towards his clan had been reduced to avenging them. They would have wished for a better life for him and for themselves, he was sure. They would have wanted to stay alive.

He wondered what his father would have said about Music Town. He would not have approved of its relaxed sexual mores, and he would probably have disapproved of him being gay. His mother would have been more open-minded, probably. Maybe he would have employed the same strategy as a lot of his acquaintances, first coming out to the most tolerant family member and then to the rest of the family. A lot of them had actually chosen a brother or a sister for this: He wondered whether Itachi would have accepted his homosexuality or whether he would have despised him for being weak. It was difficult to tell: Itachi had murdered the clan and left the village when he had still been too young to know about sex, and after this, he had been a spy at Akatsuki and never had any opportunity to have sex with anyone. 

He also wondered what his father would have thought about the local police. He would have considered them too laid-back, probably. He had always been a very correct man. But the police here was very correct in their own way, insisting that everything was done according to the rules. His father would never have searched a woman for weapons. 

Naruto had stayed behind, talking downstairs to their patroness. How he joined him on the bed, sitting next to him and snuggling him.

“They would have wanted you to be happy”, he said. 

Sasuke pressed his hands. Slowly he returned to the present. His eyes fell on a letter Naruto was holding: Sakura had written again.

“She writes to you, too”, Naruto said. “More than to me.”

He gave the letter Sasuke, who unfolded it.

Dear Sasuke! 

I've understood that you consider yourself gay now. Please reconsider it. It must be the influence of the place you are staying at. I guess that back at a place where people still know what's appropriate and what's not you'll soon return to normal, I'm sure.

Better stay in Music Town, Sasuke thought. 

Returning to Konoha now would not be a good idea, however. It's not a good place to live at, and those who have the opportunity escape. Most of them simply don't return from missions. Some faked their own death, so that Danzou made it obligatory that teams retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades to prove that they are really dead and haven't deserted. Others desert openly, and don't care that their comrades and their families will be punished: their comrades for allowing them to escape, their families just because it's impossible to punish the deserters. Clans whose members deserted are dishonoured, all their ninja are demoted to chuunin, their property is confiscated and they can only keep what they need for survival. It happened to the Akimichi-Clan when Choji stayed in Suna after Shikamaru's wedding. They're extremely poor now, and they lost their place in the Clan Council. They are glad, however, that he is safe and alive, and he sends them very funny letters to keep them in good spirits. 

It's still Shikamaru's mother who sees that letters can enter Konoha without having to pass censorship, just as Naruto's and your letters. Some of her allies among the guards have deserted too, but she has found new ones. Together with some other women she has founded a network to support families who have lost a son or a daughter, be it through death or through desertion. They comfort each other and they distribute letters from those who have deserted. A lot of them would not know that their children are still alive if it were not for the network. They call themselves “Mothers of Konoha”, but they let me participate too, even though I don't have any kids. They tell me to keep a low profile, however, as they need me in the hospital: I listen to those whose kids got wounded and try to figure out whether they are rather proud or worried, and if they are more worried than proud the women of the network will contact them. 

It's about a third who's more worried than proud. My mother says it's a lot, but I think it's far too few. 

Ino got crazy when she realized that Choji had stayed behind in Suna. She calls him a traitor, and blames him for letting down his team, even though Choji was not a member of any team when he deserted, just a wedding guest. She thinks that Shikamaru is a traitor too, forsaking Konoha for his treacherous love of a daughter of the enemy. I've almost ceased to talk to her: She's only parroting Danzou, so that meaningful conversations have become impossible.

I'm now closer with Hinata instead. She's as critical of Danzou as I am. Her father died recently on some mission. The exact circumstances are rather mysterious, only that it's clear that he's really dead, not deserted. His body was carried back by his teammates. Hinata was allowed to see him for some minutes before it was cremated. She had planned to take his body home to her clan's place so that he might be burnt according to the family's customs, but Danzou denied her request.

“A Hyuuga's body contains too many secrets”, Danzou said.

“It's the clan's secrets”, she answered.

“The clan's secrets are Konoha's secrets”, Danzou replied, and with this her request was denied.

Of course the real secret is the manner of Hiashi's death. Hinata had asked me to do an autopsy before he got cremated, which was impossible after Danzou disposed of his body as soon as possible. We went to talk to the men and women who had been his team members on this mission but they gave only very vague and contradictory information. The rest was classified, they said. They were all very loyal to Danzou anyway, or even from Root, and would not tell.

I discussed with Yamato and Kakashi the tiny bits of information we gained, and also what Hiashi told us before he left, and both of them said that if what Hiashi has told us was true it would have been really irresponsible to send him on that mission. They advised us to remain quiet about it, however: lots of people are now sent on irresponsible missions and don't return, and their families don't complain. 

Sasuke put down the letter, thinking about what Sakura had not written: that while others were sent on irresponsible missions because Konoha's forces were overstretched Hiashi had purposely sent into his death.

Hinata is now head of her clan. She has retired from active duty as a shinobi to order the affairs of her clan, as it is the right of every head of clan except in cases of an immediate threat to Konoha. But we're just waiting for Danzou to withdraw this privilege, due to extraordinary circumstances, just as he did with her father. We are thinking of counter measures. At the moment she enjoys her new position and has begun to change her clan's rules.

Sai and I have ceased to search the reports on your clan. We don't think we will find any information whether your clan was really planning a coup d'etat. Sai has started to search Danzou's private offices, hoping that they contain something more substantial. We have very little contact now, as he has to avoid any actions that might make people suspicious of him.

I told Kakashi of your suspicion that your clan was murdered on orders of the administration of Konoha because allegedly they were planning a coup d'etat. He told me that he has always known that the clan was being spied on, as he himself was a member of ANBU at the time and participated in the spying. He confirmed that what they found out was meaningless, but their superiors constructed evidence of a conspiracy from their casual observations to encourage them to go on. The public did not know, of course. Kakashi now thinks that the main purpose of having an eye on the clan was to keep them in a state of permanent alertness: Never feeling safe, always taking care what to say and what not. They did not even care much about staying hidden from view: they wanted people to know that they were being watched. With their ANBU masks they were safe from being recognized anyway.

When Kakashi heard that Itachi had murdered your clan he was mainly glad that his spying duties were over and that they were ended by a member of the clan itself, not an outsider, sparing everyone a lot of trouble. In hindsight, however, it makes sense to him that there had been an order from the top level of the administration. Itachi always kept himself apart from the other young members at ANBU: at the time Kakashi thought that it was because he was younger than the rest of them and could not participate in their conversations and their flirting and what else they did during breaks. But this was not the only thing: he had a special role in a lot of other ways too: He was always on extra missions and received his orders from the top administration, not from their regular superiors and was summoned to meetings with them on a pretty regular basis.

He was always very serious, which Kakashi again ascribed to his young age, and later, when he had murdered the clan, there was talk that rising so high and having such a steep career in such a short time must have turned him first depressed and then crazy. But now Kakashi thinks that if you are right and Itachi really murdered the clan on orders of the Leaf it makes sense that he was so serious: knowing that he had to kill everyone he loved and then lead a life of loneliness as a spy among Akatsuki must have turned him desperate.

Sasuke paused again. It had never occured to him that Kakashi had been a member of ANBU at the same time as Itachi and that they might have known each other. It had never occured to him to ask Kakashi about what he knew of Itachi.

On the other hand, during the months of his training with Kakashi he had still believed that Itachi had murdered the clan from his own choice and that there wasn't more to it. His hatred and his revenge had been enough. He returned to the letter.

Kakashi also told me that during all these years he kept visiting the parents of his best friend, Uchiha Obito, on his birthday and on the anniversary of his death. He learnt more on these visits about the clan's situation than with all his spying, but it never came to his mind to tell his superiors of what he had learnt from Obito's parents. There weren't any hints of a conspiracy anyway: They suffered from their poverty, from not being allowed to leave the ghetto except for their duties as shinobi, they suffered from being stuck in a narrow space with the rest of the clan, where they often got on each other's nerves, even though they did their best to support each other. There was a great pressure on everyone to be loyal and not cause any trouble or conflicts. They also suffered from not being allowed to place a candle on the cenotaph with Obito's name on it. They hoped that one day the ban on the clan would be lifted, or that one day they might leave the village, but then thier lives ended on the night of Itachi's murder of the clan.

So this is what information I could find concerning your clan. I will try to find more.

It was quite a bit, Sasuke thought. Having just heard his new friends' considerations that for a coup d'etat you needed allies, which his clan had not had, he was quite convinced now that there had never been any plan for a coup d'etat. He just needed some confirmation that Itachi had murdered the clan on orders, that he had been manipulated and betrayed. 

People here thought that the murder of the clan was a crime in any case, even if they had been planning a coup d'etat. They should have been put to trial, not murdered.

He read the last lines of the letter: 

Stay well! I wish you all the best and hope you're doing fine with Naruto, but please reconsider whether you really want the mores of Music Town influence you.

Love Sakura.

Sasuke looked at Naruto, who had been sitting next to him, reading the letter with him. 

“She still doesn't believe I'm serious about being gay”, he said, drawing Naruto into a kiss. For about a minute they enjoyed playing with each other's tongues, then Naruto dissolved Sasuke's embrace: 

“Let's see what she writes to me!” 

It was a very short letter: 

Dear Naruto! 

What do you mean: he's gay and I can't do anything about it!`You seduced him! You want to keep him all for yourself! What has happened to your promise that you will bring him back to me? 

Sakura.

P. S. Hinata cannot believe either that you're gay. 

Naruto felt irritated and confused: Since when did Sakura discuss his love life and his sexual orientation with Hinata? 

“I'll tell Hinata that now you belong to me”, Sasuke said, drawing Naruto into a kiss again, and this time they did not stop after a minute.

They did not discuss Sakura's letter to Sasuke. They never discussed what happened in Konoha.


	72. Chapter Sixty-Nine: Still burning

Including anal sex into their repertoire of sexual techniques had had an unforeseen consequence: Sasuke had grown more confident about initiating sex. Before he had always felt insecure whether Naruto did not just have sex with him in order to do him a favour, now he was certain that he could give Naruto what a girl could give and that Naruto enjoyed it (except that he still had to keep the kyuubi in check when he lost control during orgasm). He was not aware that if Naruto had really been straight allowing him to penetrate him would not have been enough: if Naruto had really been straight he would have longed for full female breasts, for wide, round hips, and for a vagina that produced its own moisture. 

There were some signs now that Naruto was beginning to consider himself gay. He had stopped trying to protect Sasuke from the other men, accepting that even though they were gay they did not prey on Sasuke but respected that he was now with him, Naruto. Actually they just respected his wishes, Sasuke thought, more than any girl ever had. He was glad that with Naruto no longer trying to protect him the number of embarrassing situations had considerably gone down, but mostly Sasuke was glad that Naruto now regarded their fellow gay men as ordinary people and hoped that he was no longer ashamed of being one of them. 

At least he had now begun to take an interest in other men's looks: Mostly those of football players, discussing not only their technical skills or their understanding of the game, but also their hair styles or whether wearing a beard suited them or not. From there it was only a small step to calling a player “cute”, and to his surprise Sasuke discovered that Naruto could get into discussions about the good looks of this or that player that were as fierce as any discussion about the quality of his play. 

“He may be cute” the other men would say in answer to Naruto. “But you want a real man in your bed, don't you?”

Naruto was irritated. He was not yet able to answer to such a joke with a funny remark of his own. Fortunately Sasuke happened to be standing next to him, so he took his hand and said: “I want Sasuke in my bed.”

Yet even though he had begun to discuss the looks of football players Naruto still would protest vehemently if the regulars at the restaurant where they worked claimed that gay men did not care about football in itself but were only interested in watching some good-looking men running around in short trousers. He would get very angry on these occasions, and elaborate for minutes why this was not true, but Sasuke, who listened carefully, noticed that Naruto avoided having to choose between saying “we” or “they” when he spoke of gay men. 

Probably Naruto simply knew that being in love with Sasuke, and very open about it in the bargain, he could not claim that he was not gay. Yet for Sasuke this was not enough: He had to know that Naruto really was sexually interested in him and not just with him because he was his friend. He was aware of the absurdity of the situation: He needed to know that Naruto took an interest in other men, too, to feel certain that Naruto was gay.

For this reason he felt relaxed when Naruto started to dance with other men: Not during dance classes or training, but at dance teas and parties. Actually it had been him, Sasuke, who had first been asked to dance by someone who was not Naruto, namely by the husband of the guy from Earth Country. Naruto had been discussing football at the time, with Sasuke listening to him and his fellow disputants, but when Naruto had heard the man asking Sasuke if he wanted to dance he had answered before Sasuke had even opened his mouth: “If Sasuke wants to dance I will dance with him.”

“You go on talking football”, the man had said. “I want to dance with Sasuke, not to sleep with him.”

Sasuke had enjoyed dancing with the man. He was not as good as Naruto, there were a lot of figures he did not know or messed up by being too slow or confusing the steps, and there were a lot of misunderstandings as the man did not notice Sasuke's signs as Naruto did. Often they had to interrupt their dancing and sort out what had gone wrong, but they always did this in a polite and rational manner while with Naruto these discussions regularly deteriorated into a dispute whose fault it had been that they had messed up. (He, Sasuke, was not entirely innocent of this.) Also, the man made him feel that he was a competent dancer and that it was a pleasure to be led by him, while with Naruto Sasuke often felt inadequate.

From then on both of them were asked to dance on a regular basis, Naruto even more often than Sasuke. Not only his qualities as a dancer but also his extroversion and his skill at making small talk made him a popular partner. Sasuke loved to watch him dance, seeing Naruto from a few meters distance in his full beauty, he enjoyed the grace and the vitality of Naruto's movements, he enjoyed being waved and smiled at when Naruto followed his partner and did some solo turns that allowed him to take a look at onlookers, he enjoyed watching how Naruto led in a considerate, caring manner when he was leading, but also he was jealous and sad that he was not outgoing and popular in the same way. 

“Naruto is friends with everyone”, he told the husband of the guy from Earth Country. 

“You have friends too”, the man replied. 

“It's not the same”, Sasuke answered. “When Naruto enters the room it's as if the clouds had given way so that the sun can shine again.”

The man looked irritated. “You say this because you are in love with him. Others don't perceive him that way.”

“But they all look when he enters the room.” 

“Well, yes, they do like him. They like you too.”

“It's still not the same”, Sasuke said again. 

This time the man thought a bit before he answered. “Well, he's less complicated than you are. People know what to make of him. With you, it takes some time. You prefer to remain mysterious.”

Sasuke thought about it. “I haven't always been like this”, he finally said. “I used to be very cute. Everyone liked me.”

The man took some time again before he answered. “How old were you then?” 

“Five. Six. Seven.”

“Before your family was murdered?”

“Yes.”

“You cannot go back in time. You cannot change the past. And it does not suit an almost grown-up boy if he behaves like a five-year-old.”

Sasuke was silenced. The man laid his arm around him to show him that he liked him even though he occasionally behaved like a five-year-old. Soon Naruto saw this and came to ask Sasuke to dance with him.

Naruto fully enjoyed his popularity and was of no use at all when it came to helping Sasuke overcome his self-doubts. He hardly noticed these doubts, but he noticed that people asked him to dance more often and that finding someone to talk to was easier for him than for Sasuke, and that people smiled at him wherever he went. In Konoha Sasuke had been the more popular of the two of them, even though he nad not cared about his popularity at the time – here it was him, Naruto who was liked by everyone. In Konoha, the girls had swooned for Sasuke and admired him because of his good looks and his fighting skills, and for the latter the boys, including Naruto, had admired him too. Here it was Naruto who got all the admiration, while Sasuke, if he was lucky, only got some acknowledgement. Sasuke might still be a better fighter – Naruto did not know, and he did not intend to find out – but he was the better dancer, and this was what counted in Music Town. Also, the men here seemed to think him better-looking than Sasuke: Sasuke's fine features, his cuteness and his air of mystery weren't of any value to them. They preferred Naruto's open smile and his more manly looks. 

He, too, wondered whether he was really gay now. The other men considered him as one of them, and he knew that as long as he was with Sasuke it was ridiculous to claim the opposite and he definitely intended to stay with Sasuke. He wondered whether this was enough to turn him gay, however.

As a child he had liked Sakura, who had been pretty and nice and generally popular. Most boys had had a crush on her, Sasuke being one of the few exceptions. Naruto had been the lucky one who got into a team with her, but then watching her making a fuss about Sasuke all the time had turned out not so lucky after all. Slowly Naruto had realized the seriousness of her affection for Sasuke. He had given up hope that he might ever win her heart, and had settled for a warm, reliable friendship. By the time when he had left Konoha to train with Jiraiya he had ceased to think of her as an object of his desire, and instead thought of her as a dear friend.

Later Hinata had declared her love to him. He had always thought her nice, but also a bit weird, and she was ridiculously timid and insecure. He was content with himself that he had been able to inspire her so that she would work harder and gain some confidence and not give up so easily, but he had never particularly longed for her company, nor did the thought of her make his heart beat faster.

Sasuke had made his heart beat faster from the moment he had seen him sitting at the side of the lake, mourning for his family, giving hope to Naruto that there might be someone to share and alleviate his loneliness. Later when this hope had not come true, Sasuke at least had inspired him to become as strong and fearless as him. Sasuke's acknowledgement had shown him that he had succeeded, but Sasuke's recognition when he had offered him his food during Kakashi's bell test had opened his heart for Sasuke in a way he had not thought possible before, and the bond that had been created during these days had grown stronger and stronger even though he had still been too young to understand its nature. Instead he chose to continue his rivalry with Sasuke. He had felt the bond, however, during his years with Jiraiya: tugging at his heart and making it ache. 

It had been for Sasuke who his heart had burnt for during all these years, Sasuke, who his soul had longed for and reached out to, and neither Sakura nor Hinata. Finding him here in Music Town, being able to make him stay, finally moving his heart: it had been pure bliss to him, and when they became lovers, the flame that had been burning within him for so long had lit up as if someone had poured alcohol into it, it had consumed him and blown open the boundaries of his body and his soul. He had never spoken to Sasuke about it because he feared that Sasuke would ridicule him, but this was how he still felt when they were having sex. 

The flame still burnt, he thought, just as during his years of training with Jiraiya. It did not burn always, for example it did not burn when Sasuke reminded him that he still had not found a plan to get rid of Danzou, but it burnt now, as he was looking at Sasuke, who was lying next to him on the bed, still sleeping. 

He had grown soft since his arrival in Music Town, Naruto thought, and even softer since they had become lovers, and it suited him, making him look even more feminine. He seemed very vulnerable in his sleep, and Naruto felt protective of him. 

He liked it that Sasuke had changed, he liked the smile that more and more often now illuminated Sasuke's features from within, turning him breathtakingly beautiful. On the other hand his coolness and aloofness had mostly gone, and with it the fascination Sasuke had held for Naruto. Sasuke's talents weren't of any value in this place that had no use for fighters, Naruto thought. No one would admire him here. He pitied him a bit. 

But Sasuke loved the place, Naruto's thoughts continued. He would not exchange it for the admiration he had received in Konoha. Maybe there was no need to pity him. Carefully and very tenderly Naruto removed a strand of black hair from Sasuke's forehead and then caressed his cheek.


	73. Chapter Seventy: What's Best

Sasuke opened his eyes: Actually he had been awake for quite some time. He returned Naruto's gentle gesture, caressing his cheeks, then he slung his arms around Naruto's neck and drew him into a kiss. He broke the kiss after a short time and lifted Naruto by his shoulders, and then indicated to him that he should take off his T-shirt (a black one with a fox's head on it – Sasuke had not yet been able to convince Naruto that this was neither cool nor sexy.) He took off his own shirt and drew Naruto into an embrace again: Carefully Naruto moved fully on top of him, thigh upon thigh, his full weight supported by Sasuke. 

Sasuke caressed his back while Naruto kissed Sasuke's face: Moments of warmth and tenderness and fusing into each other that Naruto often enjoyed more than the actual sex. Lying on Sasuke with his eyes closed, his cheek resting against Sasuke's cheek, feeling Sasuke's hands in his hair, on his shoulderblades, his back, his bottom. All his skin covered by Sasuke's skin. This was how it felt to be loved.

Again Sasuke put his hands under Naruto's shoulders and lifted him off himself. He looked at Naruto, smiling at him and at the same time challenging him, an expression Naruto by now recognized immediately: this was how Sasuke looked when he wanted to have sex. Naruto smiled and blushed and looked altogether embarrassed, and this was how Sasuke recognized that Naruto welcomed his suggestion. He always did. Sasuke began to play with Naruto's nipples, and Naruto got active too, caressing Sasuke's chest and his belly and then went further down, freeing Sasuke from his underpants (tight, sexy ones, but Naruto liked him better without them), playing with his pubic hair and caressing the inner side of his thighs. Sasuke sat up so that he could caress Naruto's head and mess up his hair while Naruto began to kiss his genitals, but soon his hands remained still on Naruto's shoulders while Naruto brought him to orgasm. 

For Sasuke just as for Naruto these were moments when dreams came to life.

“It's your turn now”, Sasuke said, taking Naruto's shoulders and making him lie on his back. 

“What do you want me to do?”

“Whatever suits you”, Naruto answered. 

He really did not have any clear preferences, but he looked forward to his cock being the centre of Sasuke's activities. Sasuke removed his boxers and used both his hands and his mouth to arouse him, occasionally looking at his face to see him smiling, and when Naruto was ready he reached out for the bottle of lube to spread it over both of them. Actions that had seemed quite embarrassing at first, like spreading lube around the area of his own anus while Naruto was watching, had become perfectly natural by now, and he enjoyed the expression of expectation and impatience on Naruto's face while he drew out the moment of actually taking Naruto's cock and introducing it into himself. 

He rode him, enjoying the feeling of being full of Naruto, enjoying Naruto's expression, which was still one of joyous disbelief, just as when back on their first day as genin he had shared his food with him. He watched him come after a short time – in this position Naruto was not good at putting off his orgasm. Sasuke did not mind: He had already climaxed this morning, and anyway, he would not blame Naruto for being Naruto, impulsive and energetic, and a bit childish, but not very refined.

He still had to get the kyuubi under control every time after climaxing. Sasuke dissolved from him and lay down next to him, ready to intervene if anything went wrong. He laid his hand on Naruto's navel: by now Naruto had accepted it, as he understood that Sasuke felt hurt if he did not allow him to be near to him in these moments of distress, and slowly he was figuring out where to place Sasuke's hand so that it would not stir up the kyuubi even more and instead actually help him get it under control. He would not allow Sasuke to use his Sharingan, however, which would have made things much easier (as Sasuke firmly believed.) 

They both caught their breath and lay peacefully side by side for a while, then (as there was still time until they had to get ready for work) Naruto sat up and began to caress Sasuke's face. 

“Want to have another go?” he asked.

Sasuke nodded and drew him into a kiss again. Naruto had told him some time ago that during his years with Jiraiya he had thought that sex was not important to him, and that he would not have minded living chaste, occasionally looking after Sasuke's and Sakura's children. Sasuke had been quite surprised by this information: Now Naruto craved for the physical contact to the point that even in public situations he would not let go off Sasuke's hand unless he could not avoid it, and he loved the physical intimacy of having sex. He almost always went for several rounds, and if he did not, it was only for lack of time. When he had come, and got the kyuubi under control, the happiness on his face warmed Sasuke's heart like a ray of sunlight. 

It made perfect sense that Naruto enjoyed having sex, Sasuke thought, He was full of vitality and his sexuality was part of it. Everyone saw it, and he might have had a different lover every night, or three different lovers, if it had not been for Sasuke. Sasuke loved his energy, and he also loved controlling it and putting a halt to it and then letting it flow again.

Now, however, it was again Naruto's turn to be active. Already he was leaning over Sasuke's chest, kissing and caressing it, and slowly moving down. Sasuke caressed his back and his bottom in return, and then his thighs when they were within reach. When Naruto had arrived at his genitals Sasuke opened his thighs and slung one of his legs around him, inducing him to change place and settle between his legs. Naruto caressed the inner side of his thighs and kissed the tip of his cock, and then again he moved upward and kissed Sasuke on his mouth and the warmth in his eyes made Sasuke smile in return. Their cocks touched each other. Again Sasuke reached out for the bottle of lube and passed it to Naruto: they definitely needed a new layer. Naruto distributed it both on himself and Sasuke, gently inserting a finger into Sasuke to apply some of the lube within him.

He was still timid about anal sex, and he still needed clear signs such as Sasuke taking his cock and showing it the way. Sasuke also always laid his feet on Naruto's shoulders by himself, not waiting for Naruto to do this, and he drew down Naruto's head to his own, tousled his hair and caressed his shoulders while Naruto moved within him. He had taken some time until he had gained enough trust to let Naruto be in charge of their love making with him lying on his back helpless as a beetle, and he still needed to be active in some way to be able to cope with the situation. Also Naruto had made clear to him that he preferred this to Sasuke just lying on the bed and doing nothing.

“It makes me feel welcome”, he said. 

Thus Sasuke kissed him and played with his nipples and caressed the soft spot on Naruto's flank while he enjoyed him moving inside him. Naruto made sure to find Sasuke's prostrate and only after Sasuke had climaxed he allowed himself to come too. (In this position it was easier for him to hold back.) Sasuke watched over him in case the kyuubi gained control.

With his limp cock still within Sasuke Naruto lay down on his chest to relax while Sasuke carefully placed his feet again on the bed and played with Naruto's hair.

“You know what's best about this?” he asked. 

Naruto supported himself on his hands and looked down on his lover. The question had taken him by surprise, and he took some time to come up with a suitable answer.

“My strength and manliness you've been craving for all your life”, he put forward a guess.

Sasuke shook his head. 

“My huge amount of chakra that gives me the stamina to go three rounds on a single morning.”

Sasuke shook his head again.

“My superior technique that gives you pleasure while you don't have to do anything but lie down and enjoy.” 

Sasuke shook his head again., kissing Naruto and caressing his shoulders.

“The best thing is that I am one hundred percent sure that no one has planned this for me. I wanted it all for myself. No one tricked me into it.”

“I tricked you into it with my charm and beauty”, Naruto replied, feeling somehow hurt.

It was not how it happened, Sasuke remembered. If anything Naruto had tricked him into staying in Music Town.

“You like it too, don't you?” he said.

Naruto kissed him and his cock got a bit hard again. Sasuke felt it within him: They still had time for a fourth round, but they both needed some rest before they could start again. 

“I like it and I'm glad I tricked you into it”, Naruto said, kissing Sasuke's cheeks and nibbling at his ear. He knew that it had not been him who had seduced Sasuke, but he wished it was, and liked to imagine it.

“I tricked you into it with my smile and my love and the warmth of my heart.”

Sasuke kissed him back, thinking that in some way this was true.

“I don't mind being tricked by you”, he said. “You don't have any plans for me, do you? Only that I stay with you.”

“Yes, only that you stay with me”, Naruto said.

He slid out of Sasuke as this was beginning to feel uncomfortable, and lay down beside him, his head resting on Sasuke's shoulder. 

“Everyone else had plans for me”, Sasuke continued. “The administration of Konoha, Orochimaru, Itachi, my family probably too.” And Madara, he thought, but he had not yet told Naruto about the man with the mask, and he did not intend to do it now. 

“Though I don't think that my family had a lot of plans for me. I was only the second son, and not of much importance. They had more plans for Itachi, I think, as he was to succeed my father as head of the clan.”

Naruto listened, his hand lying quietly on Sasuke's chest, no longer moving and caressing him. He was curious what would follow.

“But my brother had plans for me, and the administration of Konoha too. The Sandaime at least. Danzou and the two councillors simply wanted me dead.”

“What plans do you think did the Sandaime have for you?” 

Sasuke shrugged with the shoulder that was not supporting Naruto's head.

“Maybe he simply wanted me to become extremely strong through my endeavour to complete my revenge”, he said. “And at the same time he needed to keep me ignorant of the truth, so that I would remain in Konoha as a shinobi of the Leaf. I was not even aware that my clan had been ghettoized. They wanted me to believe that everything was okay, save that Itachi had gone crazy. Only that suddenly I began to take my revenge seriously and was no longer ready to wait.”

“You should have stayed in Konoha”, Naruto said. “You hurt me, and it was too risky.”

“I would not have learnt the truth if I had stayed.”

Naruto did not have any answer to this.

“They wanted me as strong as possible”, Sasuke continued. “They wanted me to train for my revenge but then I overdid. With Itachi it was the same. He told me to take revenge against him. He told me to hate him.”

Since his conversaion with the husband of the guy from Earth Country Sasuke had wondered how it had come that he had ceased to be the adorable beloved little child he used to be. The massacre was not the only reason, he thought – it would not have happened in this place, he was sure. Here people knew how to comfort children and look after them... He had tried to lay all the blame on the administration of Konoha that had wanted him strong and lonely, but in the end he had been honest and admitted to himself that it had been Itachi who had told him to be an avenger.

“I believed him. I thought that I had to become as strong as him, as only the strong prevailed in this world, those like Itachi who don't need anyone. I thought the love he had shown me was only an illusion. I was naive again, not asking why he wanted me as strong as possible so that I might kill him. I did not wonder why he wanted to be killed. He even gave me some advice how to get stronger: He told me to kill you.”

“What?” Naruto said, sitting up. He had been rather bored by Sasuke's musings, even though he knew that they were very important to Sasuke, but this information startled him of course.

“Why? How? What was wrong with me?” 

“Not you personally. He advised me to kill my best friend.”

Naruto did not move.

“That's why I tried to kill you in the Valley of the End.”

Naruto still did not move. 

“I'm sorry I tried. I should not have done it.”

They were, somehow, not in physical contact at the moment. Sasuke reached out to caress Naruto's face, and Naruto caught his hand and pressed it against his cheek.

“I told you already: it's okay. I just wondered: Itachi spared your life, but what kind of life did he have in mind for you?”

Sasuke shrugged again. “The same kind of life he led himself: Strong, lonely, devoting my life to Konoha. Ignorant of Konoha's crimes against my clan, and never asking any questions as in my hatred I did not see what in his behaviour did not fit the image of a murderer gone insane.”

Naruto still neither talked nor moved, but he kept pressing Sasuke's hand against his face. Sasuke began to feel uncomfortable. 

“He told me to kill you too”, Naruto said. 

Sasuke sat up in shock. 

“It was when I met him when we were searching for you. He asked me whether I cared for you, and he entrusted you to me, but also asked me what I would do if I had to choose between you and Konoha. I told him I'd protect both you and Konoha, but he called me childish and gave me some power that I might use against you if necessary, hoping that it never would be necessary.”

Sasuke was silent. He heard Naruto's comforting words, but he also heard what was hidden within the soft wrappings: If push had come to shove, Itachi would have wanted Naruto to choose Konoha before him. When he had spared him in the night of the massacre it had not been because he loved him more than the village but because he had believed that he could keep him ignorant forever. Itachi had needed to make sure that Sasuke would direct all his hatred against himself.

Itachi had chosen Konoha before Sasuke: He had let him live, but only a diminished life, bound by the chains of ignorance and loneliness. 

“But I kept my promise”, Naruto said. “I have found a way to protect Konoha without killing you.”

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. “You don`t have sex with me to divert me from the fact that you still haven't found a plan to get rid of Danzou and are not even seriously working on it...”

“I am working on it”, Naruto replied, feeling offended. “It's just that I don't see a solution that does not get us killed after getting rid of Danzou. You don't have any ideas either: All your plans involve your death.”

He snuggled against Sasuke. “Itachi wanted me to look after you, and see that you don't die”, he said.

Naruto really cared, Sasuke remembered. He wanted him not only alive but also happy. When Naruto asked whether he was ready for another round of sex he agreed.


	74. Chapter Seventy-One: True Ninja

Finally the new edition of the Gutsy Ninja had been printed, complete with introduction and a photo of Naruto on the back cover. They had chosen a black and white one in the end, and it looked great, showing Naruto in a way that was very manly and very sexy at the same time. The important book stores of the town displayed photos of the book in their shop windows, together with stacks of the book itself, so that whenever Naruto walked through the streets of the center of town he saw his own face smiling at him.

At their dance class he gave an author's copy to the guy from Earth Country and his husband, and all their gay friends complimented him and told him that the editors of Icha-Icha certainly knew how to lure the (mostly female) fanbase of Jiraiya into buying the Gutsy Ninja too. Even Juugo's fostermothers, to whom Naruto had also given one of his author's copies, said that the photographers had done a great job. 

Sasuke explained that it had actually been him who had chosen the clothes and the make-up for Naruto, and that the photographers were cowards, not daring to choose a coloured photo. The two mothers listened patiently, then they changed the subject and asked Sasuke about Juugo's age. They needed to know it as they planned to send him to school when the holidays were over. (Pretending that you were a kid had its disadvantages, Sasuke realized.) 

“We have no idea which class to put him in”, they said. “We thought he was twelve, as our own boys, but he has grown such a lot since summer that we think he's at least fourteen. Only his level of education is really bad. Nobody seems to have taught him anything at that evil place you have escaped from.”

“He was kept in a cage all by himself”, Sasuke answered.

The women looked shocked. They had not expected such an amount of evilness. “He's doing really fine, considering what he went through. And he's always friendly and grateful and eager to help and eager to learn. We hope that he will soon catch up if we put him into a class of children who are more or less his own age.”

He was indeed now taller than his fostermothers. Sasuke wondered whether whatever had turned Juugo into a twelve-year-old kid was now wearing off. 

“What about the two of you?” the mothers continued to ask. “Have you ever thought of going back to school too? Or learn some profession? You cannot remain waiters forever.”

“We are ninja with a certificate from the academy of Konoha”, Sasuke answered. “We plan to return to Konoha. We don't need another profession.” 

The women tried to explain to them that they had no idea how long it would take until they'd be able to return, and that they'd better make good use of their time in Music Town by learning a meaningful trade. They kept talking for quite some time until they finally got aware that neither Sasuke nor Naruto were responding to what they said. 

When they had run out of both breath and words, Naruto managed to change the subject and tell them of the results of his research among the various religious congregations of Music Town.

“You were right: The Rikudou Sennin was not the only religious leader who preached about peace. Actually all the religious communities I visited told me that peace is of vital importance to their religion and that “don't kill” is one of its main precepts. They admit that there were times when their religion got corrupted, but originally, they say, it was all about people living in harmony, and that's how they practise it now. It's just the other religions that are not peaceful but have violence inscribed into the very foundations of their belief. They get along well with the local congregations of these religions as they have to behave peacefully under the laws of Music Town, they even invite each other to festivals on important holidays, but they complain that they always have to be careful what to talk about, never addressing the violence at the basis of the other's religion, because if you do, people will be first in denial and then get defensive, and in the end, if you refuse to be silent about the problem, they will get aggressive.”

The women smiled understandingly: Naruto's tales did not contain any new information for them.

“And then they give me brochures and invitations to their Youth Club or some lecture. Sasuke keeps asking me when he may put it all into the wastepaper bin.”

“It's all the same rubbish”, Sasuke said. “Live a virtuous and selfless life, then you will find inner peace or peace with God or the Gods, and you'll also be successful in your job and have a lot of friends. It's all stuff for people who haven't experienced any real suffering.”

At the moment he looked quite content though, enjoying the sun and the lunch the two mothers had served.

“He reads it all”, Naruto continued. “And he's already made up his mind, as you see. I haven't, but I think I want to find out more about the Rikudou Sennin himself, and the religion he founded, even if it's not that different from other people's religions. It's because what I was taught as a ninja is a distorted version of his teachings, which is now all about fighting, and I want to learn about the real thing.”

The two mothers advised him to go to the central temple. 

“We used to be a ninja village too, after all, and there's still a lot of people who remember that time and still believe in the old religion.”

Naruto's first step, however, was to turn to the book about the Rikudou “his life, his time, his ideas” that he had got from the library. It turned out to be quite interesting, and a much easier read than he had expected, now that he had learnt about all the other religions in Music Town. He also took it with him to the riverside so that he had something to read while Sasuke was listening to their new friends' discussions of politics. Unfortunately, the young people caught a glimpse of the book.

“The Rikudou!” they said. “Why do you read a book about an esoteric guru?” 

“What's esoteric?” Naruto asked.

“It means teachings that are only for a select few who are worthy of being initiated into some secret mysteries.”

“But the Rikudou preached about peace and working together instead of against each other. That's hardly a mystery.”

“Well, yes, everybody knows about peace and collaboration”, the young people replied. “But that's not the real thing. That's not what attracted people to the Rikudou's teachings. They are attracted by the promise of special experiences and extraordinary strength and the prospect of being member of a small elite. Just read” - they named an author Naruto had never heard of - “ he explains exactly how ninshuu became the most important religion of the ninja countries, with a small group of people with special skills on top.”

Naruto grew uneasy. He sensed that these young people knew something about the transformation of the religion of ninjuu into ninjutsu, a system of fighting techniques, but also he felt as if they had attacked him personally.   
“The techniques aren't only for a small group of people”, he said. “Everyone can master ninjutsu. At least to a certain degree.”

He looked at Sasuke, hoping for some support. It had been Sasuke after all who had informed him that some of the kids they taught might be able to forge chakra. Sasuke, however, remained silent.

“Are you a ninja yourself?” people asked, and Naruto felt as if he had made a huge mistake, betraying himself.

“Yes”, he admitted.

“So you have learnt all the stuff about getting in touch with your inner energy and perceiving the world in a special way?”

“Yes”, Naruto answered, feeling caught again.

“So you have been influenced by the ideology and are no longer able to judge it neutrally.”

Now Naruto felt really bad. “Look, there's not much ideology. It's about peace, that's all. There's nothing wrong with peace.”

“But the message about peace is just the surface”, the young people repeated. “In reality, it's all about power, as it is the case with all religions. The elite needs it to support its claim of superiority, making those at the bottom follow them, and they need religion to make those at the bottom believe that they all belong together, as followers of one religion, high or low. Nothing is better than religion if you want your followers to unite against those who follow different religions and refuse to accept the truth, so that they may be killed without remorse. There's other means of instilling this sense of community too, football for example: You belong to a certain group of people, the fans of your club, and feel superior to those who don't belong, just because you yourself belong to it. But with religion you give it a deeper meaning, as you can pretend that killing others is the will of the Gods, or in harmony with the universe.”

Sasuke was listening too. The young people's ideas fascinated him, mostly because he felt confirmed in his own attitude towards religion but also because he wondered whether Danzou too had thought that killing his clan had been in harmony with the universe. Now however he decided to intervene and support Naruto: “It's not as you think”, he said. “You belong to a certain group and you may feel proud of it, but you also have to prove worthy of belonging to that group. You can't just feel proud of nothing.” He paused for a few seconds. “Except with football of course. There people feel proud when their team has won even though they themselves did not do anything but cheer. Only the players have to be good at what they are actually doing. Well, some people think that their cheers are a substantial contribution to a victory.” He looked at Naruto who sometimes had expressed such ideas. 

The young people looked irritated and confused. They had not expected Sasuke to speak up. 

“Well, of course the group has its demands on you”, one of the women finally answered. “And in return it really offers you as a reward that you may feel proud of belonging to that group. But what is best is still that you decide about your own values and what you want to achieve for yourself.”

Sasuke was silent: deciding for himself was what he had always been proud of, even in times when he was actually being manipulated, as he had to admit to himself in hindsight. The whole group was silent, as no one knew what to add to the discussion, until suddenly one of them cried out: “Watch out! The police!” 

It were two female officers again, standing on the street, which was on a higher level than the river itself, taking in the sight of the lawn that went down in a slope, and then approaching the nearest group of people, taking down people's names while the people themselves got up and prepared to leave. 

Leisurely the two policewomen walked over to the next group, while Sasuke's and Naruto's group packed their stuff in a hurry and then made for the nearest bridge, hiding under it on the small patch of pavement between the river and the bridge's arc. At that point Sasuke's and Naruto's ninja instincts set in (before, they had just been confused.) Naruto discovered an iron ladder for construction workers, leading to the street on top of the bridge, and from there it was only a few metres to one of the narrow streets in the oldest part of town. Sasuke remained under the bridge, sending the members of the group up the iron ladder one by one, watching out for the policewomen who had got into a discussion with the second group they had tried to control. Naruto took his post on top of the bridge, offering a hand to the young women, which they all refused, saying they could manage by themselves, and sending them to that narrow street when no one was watching. Sasuke was last, and together they followed their friends. One of them already stood in the open door of a pub, inviting them to come in, telling them that they had already ordered a round of beer for everyone.

“So you're really ninja”, they said when the boys had settled down.  
“I told you so, didn't I?” Naruto replied. He was pleased with himself, and also he had enjoyed cooperating with Sasuke.

“But is this place safe?” Sasuke asked. “Won't they look for us here?” 

“They won't, and even if they do they can't prove anything.”

Sasuke frowned, wondering about their words. Naruto was wondering too: “But why did they check people? Why did we have to flee? We haven't done anything wrong, have we?”

Their friends looked embarrassed. “We have, actually. You are not supposed to hang out at that part of the river after ten. People who live here complain that they can't sleep.”

“So what happens if you get caught?” Sasuke asked.

“They take down your name, and if it's the second time you have to pay a fine. If they catch you a third time it gets really expensive, and they may take you to trial.”

“So why do we hang out at this corner and not at some place where it's okay?” 

“Here it's nicer. Not so overcrowded.”

“Also the police is checking for illegal drugs”, someone else added. 

“But we don't have any, have we?”

Again, the young people looked embarrassed. 

“Don't worry: we haven't tried to give you anything in secret.”

“It wouldn't have worked anyway”, Sasuke answered. “We'd recognize them. We're ninja.”

“Still it's better if we stay out of controls”, Naruto said. “We don't have any official status, or any documents to prove our identity.”

The young people took some time to process the information.

“So you're illegal refugees”, they said. 

“Yes”, Naruto answered, doing his best to accept the term. It was better than being a rogue-nin anyway. “You won't betray us, will you?” 

“Of course not. And if you need anything, money, a job, a place to stay or to hide, just tell: We'll arrange something.”

“Thanks”, Naruto answered, wondering about their new friends' generosity.

The next day he told the guy from the Earth Country and his husband about this adventure and their friends' offer, hoping for some explanations, but the two men got so upset that they were not able to answer quietly.

“We told you before!” they said. “Stay out of conflicts with the police! Don't do anything illegal, even if it's hanging out after ten where this is not allowed. And keep at a safe distance from drugs. For your friends it's a game, but your situation is far too precarious for this. If you get caught anywhere near drugs, nothing and no one can save you from being sent back to Konoha. Or you finally make up your mind and apply for some legal status: When you have become naturalized citizens of Music Town you can play hide and seek with the police too, if this gives you pleasure.”

Both boys were silenced by the outbreak.


	75. Chapter Seventy-Five: Love is not enough

Sasuke had seen the place more than once, but he had not dared to enter. It was an ordinary building like any other in the side streets in the center of town, housing offices and doctor's practices, but one of the signs next to the door had caught his attention. He had passed it and sought it out repeatedly, he had even once entered the building and taken some information leaflets he had found next to the place he was interested in, but he had not dared to ring the bell. This time, however, Naruto was with him, and Sasuke was determined that he would not chicken out.

Naruto had no idea what Sasuke was up to, and also he had not seen the sign next to the door. He was confused, but he also felt Sasuke's nervousness, and he was determined to protect him, whatever happened. He got nervous himself when Sasuke rang the bell and the door opened by itself when they pushed. They found themselves in an entrance hall with a desk for a receptionist, but no one was inside. For half a minute they stood around waiting, then a door to the adjacent room opened and a woman welcomed them and told them that her secretary had fallen ill so that she had to manage everything by herself, and that they would have to wait for a quarter of an hour, then she would have time for them. 

They had to sit around for twenty minutes, sitting around looking at abstract paintings and at a poster with the announcement that every woman should have a right to decide whether she wanted children or not, and when she wanted children and how many children she wanted.

They still did not talk – Sasuke had behaved in a very mysterious way the whole morning and Naruto did not dare to break the silence.

The door opened again and the woman who had received them said good-bye to a young girl, saying she might return whenever she wanted. She told the boys that they would have to wait for another two minutes, then she would definitely have time.

They nodded, then they watched the girl as she left. She was about their own age, maybe a bit younger, though they always had the impression of being older than Music Town teenagers of their own age: more mature, more serious, having gone through various adventures, having faced death and having learnt to live without parents. This girl was serious too, however, and obviously pregnant. She looked at the two boys as if they were a very strange sight, making them feel uncomfortable. They did not realize that they in their turn looked at her as if she was a very strange sight. It was Sasuke who managed to say good-bye just when she was about to leave, and she whispered good-bye too and closed the door behind her.

Now the woman finally had time. They were allowed to enter her room and asked to sit down at her desk. 

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

“We're in need of a surrogate mother”, Sasuke answered.

The woman looked surprised and a bit irritated. Sasuke got something from the pocket of his jacket – some paper, neatly folded to a very tiny format – and began to unfold it. 

“How old are you?” the woman asked, watching his hands.

“Seventeen.” He had never cared much about Naruto's advice to pretend that he was off age. He had now unfolded the piece of paper, it was the information leaflet of the organization they were at.

“You offer this don't you?” 

The leaflet's section on surrogate mothers was right on top now. Naruto had heard the word, but he wished that Sasuke had shown him the brochure before coming here.

“I'm afraid you are a bit too old”, the woman said. “Most women who long for a child want one who's still small, so that they can actually watch it grow up.”

She did it on purpose, Naruto thought. Sasuke must have understood it too. He remained remarkably calm, however.

“You misunderstood me”, he said. “We are not looking for a mother for ourselves. We are looking for a woman who would give birth to our children.”

It was a hopeless fight, Naruto thought. Still he could not help admiring Sasuke's insistence.

The woman turned now to him, Naruto: “How old are you?” she asked. 

“I'll be seventeen in a few weeks”, he answered. 

“Okay”, she said, dragging out the word. “I guess you both still live with your parents. What do they think of your plan?” 

Both boys cringed, but only for a fraction of a second. By now they had got used to people's default assumption that teenagers lived with their parents.

“We have our own place”, Sasuke said.

“And what do you live on?” 

“We have jobs of course.”

He sounded indignated, and Naruto saw that he had impressed her a bit. 

“What kind of jobs?” 

“At a restaurant.”

“Cooks or waiters?” 

“Waiters.”

“Is it your real profession of just a job?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Can you carry five plates at once, one of them on your lower arm? Do you know which side to pour a class of wine from?” 

“I'm the barista”, Sasuke answered. “No one's more efficient at drawing beer or at mixing drinks.”

The woman looked suspicious. He was making her doubt her decision, Naruto thought. He was doing quite well, actually, given that the fight had been hopeless from the beginning.

“It's a job”, she concluded, “not a profession. How much do you earn?”

“It depends on how much we work.”

“Per hour?”

Sasuke told her. 

“That's not enough”, she said. “You cannot raise a kid on that little money. And you cannot raise a child if you are paid by the hour, not by the month.” 

“So you have to earn enough money to be allowed to have a kid?”

The woman had to think for a few seconds before she found an answer: “When we organize surrogate mothers we want to make sure that the child is doing well.”

“And for this you need money?”

“Yes.”

There was an aggressive undertone in her voice, Naruto thought, probably because she knew that it was problematic to deny someone a child just because they were poor. He could not help admiring Sasuke: he had managed to corner her. He was not certain what he thought of this new adventure Sasuke had dragged him into, but now he decided to support his friend: 

“Money's no problem”, he said. “I am the heir of Jiraiya, the author of the best-selling Icha-Icha series.”

The woman looked stupefied and irritated. This time it took her a minute before she could continue. 

“Well, actually, the real problem is that you are too young. You have to be grown-up if you want to care for a child.”

“I have considered this”, Sasuke replied. “A child does not simply spring into existence. I'll be off age by the time it's born, and Naruto probably too.”

“You'd still be extremely young.”

Sasuke did not give up. “In your brochure you say that you support teenagers with children.”

“Girls”, the woman said.

“Why only girls? It's not fair!”

“Girls get pregnant.”

“And that's why you support them when they have kids, not us.”

“We don't encourage them to get pregnant. We encourage them not to get pregnant. But sometimes it happens all the same, and then we support them as they are still too young to cope with the situation. Help them raise the child themselves, or get an abortion, or get the child adopted.”

So far Naruto had followed the discussion without caring much about its outcome, but when he heard the word “adopted” something clicked with him.

“We can adopt such a child”, he said. “We can care for a child whose mother can't cope.”

He took Sasuke's hands and leant against him.

“That's what we really want. Be parents to a child who has no parents.”

It was not what Sasuke wanted, but he did not contradict Naruto. He caressed his hand: the woman was very irritated. 

“It does not make sense to give a child whose mother is too young to care for him properly to a couple of boys who are too young to care for him too”, she said. “Besides, normally we don't have difficulties finding adoptive parents. There's a long waiting list, and you'd be put right at the bottom of it, if you are allowed on it at all.”

It took Naruto some time to grasp the implications of her words: “You mean there's more people here who want to adopt a child than children who need to be adopted?” 

“Yes. Didn't you know?” She paused for a few seconds, then she understood. “You are not from here, are you?” 

“No.”

“Where are you from?” 

“Konoha.”

“Ah. I can imagine that there the situation is reversed, considering all the war orphans. Well, here most people get kids because they want kids, and they live long enough to see their grand-children grow up, if they don't die from accidents or some illness, so there's few babies who need to be adopted. It's a bit different with older children who had to be removed from their families as their parents could not cope. Most people want an infant who is all theirs to influence, not an older kid who has already accumulated a host of trust issues and behavioural problems.”

Naruto listened. His left hand lay in both of Sasuke's. Now he pressed them. He was excited and felt a bit dizzy, as if he was slightly drunk. 

“We could take one of these”, he said. “We'd love it all the same. We'd help it gain trust. That's what we really long for, isn't it, Sasuke? Be good parents for a child who has never had anyone for himself.” 

The woman looked very sceptical now. “You have very romantic ideas”, she said. “But love is not enough. You need to be tough and strict and patient and not give up, no matter how much trouble the kid causes. A lot of people who are older and more experienced than you have to realize that they're overchallenged and return the kid. You will understand that for the kid this is another horrible experience that will increase his or her distrust of people. We want to avoid this.”

Naruto could understand. “We would not do this”, he said. “We would not forsake such a kid. We'd stick with him, no matter what. We know what it means to feel betrayed and lonely.”

Sasuke's hands hurt now, so hard did Naruto press them.

“Caring for a child is not a way to make up for your own unhappy childhood”, the woman said. “You'll inevitably mess up.” She got up and went to the door. “It's already ten minutes into my lunch break”, she said. “Come back in ten years, and then only after you've discussed among yourselves what you really want.”

The boys got up, feeling numb and rejected. They had to force themselves to smile at the woman as they passed her and wished her a good-bye.

Naruto was the first of them to recover. He wondered what had got into him. He had not had any intention of raising a child before he had entered the building. Still, coming to think of it, he would like to care for a child one day, a child who was lonely as he himself had been, and give him the love he himself had missed. The women's words that he would inevitably mess up had hurt him. 

He led Sasuke to some bench in a nearby park, overlooking a small canal. 

“It's not fair”, Sasuke said. “Having to tell this person our age and our profession and how much we earn so that she can decide whether we're fit to raise children. And a girl can just get pregnant.”

Naruto took his hand. “She meant well”, he said. “She wants to ensure that the child is happy.”

“It would be happy with us”, Sasuke replied. “We'd love it. We'd care well for it.”

Naruto thought about it: for the first time he concretely imagined a baby living with them at their place. “We have no idea about new-born infants”, he said.

“We'd learn it. Other people learn it too.”

“You can't simply use your Sharingan on them.”

Indeed Sasuke was quite certain that this was one of the cases where his Sharingan would not work.

“I can learn the same way other people do”, he said. “Most people manage, after all.”

“But what about the rest? We can't give the child a home. Our place is too small. Juugo's fostermothers told us.”

“We can look for a better place. And for better-paid jobs.”

“We still could not give the child a home, because this is not our home. Our home is Konoha. And we can't take the child with us when we return to Konoha to take down Danzou.”

Sasuke chose his words carefully before he replied. “We could stay here”, he said. “Then for our kid this place would be home, even though we ourselves will remain strangers.” 

To Naruto the suggestion came as a surprise. He also took a long time to answer: 

“So you no longer intend to die after taking revenge against Danzou...”

“I've considered it. Maybe people are correct. Maybe refounding the clan is really more important. You know, it was Itachi who encouraged me to become an avenger, and I guess the administration of Konoha was behind him on that. I guess my parents would have been okay with my decision to make refounding the clan my first priority.” 

On any other occasion Naruto would have answered that yes, probably Sasuke's parents would have been okay with this decision, but now he was not in the mood.

“Why now? Why here?” he asked. “Why can you stay here in this place and let go off your revenge? Why could you not stay in Konoha?” 

Again Sasuke hesitated before he answered. “I can live here”, he said. “In Konoha, life seemed like a dream to me: Playing ninja and doing meaningless missions while all the time I was thinking about how my family had died and how I had found my parents lying dead on the floor. I never knew what was real: my memories of that day, or the life I was living day by day. Here I know that this place is real, and that the murder of my family was real too. Even Konoha as it is now is real too, while the Konoha I was made to believe in was an illusion built upon the deaths of countless people, among them my family. That's why I can live here.”

“What about me?” Naruto asked. “I wasn't an illusion, was I?” 

“You weren't. You were one of the few things that weren't.” 

He reached out to touch Naruto's shoulders and cheeks, but Naruto had not finished. 

“And what shall we do about Konoha`? Shall we just let it go to ruins?”

Sasuke hesitated before he answered. 

“I don't much care about Konoha.”

He might have his revenge after all, he thought, not only against Danzou but against the whole village. He did not even have to do anything, just stay in Music Town, enjoy life and occasionally pick up a newspaper. 

It did not work with Naruto: He really cared. He was still friends with Sakura, with Hinata, with Kakashi and Tsunade, with Iruka. He cared. 

He took Naruto's hand. “We'll drive Danzou out of office”, he said. “You shall become Hokage. We won't allow him to ruin Konoha.” 

Silently he let go off his revenge. Naruto relaxed and leant against him. 

“You really want to raise a kid with me?” he asked. 

“Yes”, Sasuke answered. “You shall be my new family, and I will be yours. That's what wanted when we fought at the valley of the end, isn't it?”

It was not entirely correct, but Naruto did not mind. Being lovers was better than being brothers, he thought. It held a promise for the future. And it was more fun.


	76. Chapter Seventy-Three: Little Ninja

The child's parents arrived but they did not reclaim him, seeing that he was happy on Sasuke's knees. (They were actually glad that they could have a cup of coffee without having to look after their baby.) 

“He's really a bright guy”, Sasuke said, feeling obliged to give some compliments to the parents. “All attentive and registering everything. When he grows up you'll be proud of him.”

“Thanks”, the child's mother answered. 

“Your brother showed me a picture of the child taken right after his birth”, Sasuke continued. “He's grown a lot since then.”

“Well, that's normal for children during the first months of their life”, the mother answered, sounding a bit irritated. 

“And he's grown strong.”

The child was again holding some spoon. When Sasuke tried to take it out of his hands the child did not let go, and Sasuke pretended that he was not able to take it from him.

“And he's very cute. On the picture he looked just crumpled and tiny.”

“You think so?” the child's father asked.

“Yes.” 

“Just wait till you have kids of your own. Then you'll change your mind.”

“My kids will be cute and strong and intelligent from the beginning”, Sasuke replied. 

Naruto wondered. Sasuke was gay, wasn't he? He was with him. Did he plan to leave him for this or that woman? Not now, it seemed: Sasuke took his hand and laid it on his thigh, making clear who he belonged to, then he caressed the child again.

The child's parents took each other's hands too. 

“They will be very cute. I promise you”, the child's father said. 

Naruto understood that he was making fun of Sasuke. Sasuke felt it too, he was irritated, and the child stopped smiling and got restless. 

“You'll understand when you have kids of your own”, the child's mother said. “When the child is laid into your arms and is all tiny and helpless and needs your care and protection your heart will just open and realize he or she is extremely cute.”

Sasuke did not look as if he was convinced, but he caressed the little boy again and slung his free arm around Naruto. He had felt that Naruto had stiffened, that the woman's words had hurt him, reminding him of how he had been deserted after his birth and after his parents' death, and how no one's heart had opened to him even though he must have been a cute and helpless child too. Naruto leant against him and slowly he relaxed, and the little boy on Sasuke's knees relaxed too. It would all be fine, Sasuke thought, caressing Naruto. 

The guy from Earth Country and his husband got up to buy something to eat, not only for themselves but also for Sasuke and Naruto. “As you can't get up at the moment”, they said and put a bowl of French Fries in front of them. The little boy managed to grab one of the Fries and nibble off a tiny bit, even though he had only one tooth. His mother was not amused.

“It's not healthy”, she told Sasuke off. “Try to be more careful next time!”

Sasuke tried to take the French Fry out of the boy's hands, but the boy held it fast and Sasuke did not dare to force his hand open in fear of hurting him. 

“No wonder he likes you”, the child's father said. “His mother would not allow this.”

Sasuke pulled the boy back so that he was now sitting on his lap, leaning against his belly, licking the salt off the French Fry he had secured for himself. One arm Sasuke laid around the child, preventing him from taking another French Fry, with the other hand he caressed Naruto's back. Naruto saw that like this the French Fries were not only out of the baby's but also out of Sasuke's reach and began to feed him. The child watched him curiously and Sasuke turned him around so that he might have a better look. A few times he tried to get one of the Fries Sasuke was being fed, but thinking of the child's mother's admonitions Naruto refused to give him anything. He discovered however that it was very easy to trick the child: Take the French Fry he already had out of his hand and then give it back, pretending it was a new one.

When they had finished eating (and the boy had eaten half of his French Fry too and dropped the other half to the ground) Sasuke began to play some games with him, saying nursery rhymes complete with the movements that went with the words – touching the child's fingers or toes one by one, or walking up the boy's arms with his fingers and then tickling his ears, or rocking him on his knees. 

The grown-ups were busy talking, exchanging news and gossip, content that they could do this without having to worry about the child. After some time they got aware of what Sasuke was doing.

“You still know all the traditional stuff!” the child's mother exclaimed. “I have to buy books to learn the old rhymes, and I always feel insecure about the movements. It's just not the same as learning them as a little child from your own mother.”

Sasuke got serious again. It showed more in the baby's face than his own. 

“I don't remember my mother telling these verses to me”, he said. “But I had a little cousin, and when her family visited us I listened to my aunt and my mother tell her all these verses, and I was allowed to hold her too and play these games with her too.”

He paused before he went on: the memory was painful and he had to search for words. “She was just as cute as your child”, he said. “She had just learnt to walk when she got killed.”

The baby's parents looked shocked. 

“It must have been horrible for the family”, the mother said. “You do everything to protect her, and still there's some accidents you cannot prevent.”

Sasuke realized his mistake: not all of his listeners already knew of his story.

“It wasn't an accident”, he explained. “The government of Konoha had ordered the murder of my whole clan.” He did not want to tell that it had been his brother who had carried out the order. 

“The whole clan?” the woman exclaimed. “But not the children, did they?”

By now Sasuke had grown used to the shocked silence that followed when he told his story. He had come to enjoy it actually: It made clear to him that people here thought such an event abhorrent and quite out of the ordinary.

“But you managed to escape”, the child's mother finally said.

“I was spared, yes.”

“It must have been horrible.”

“It was.”

There was another silence, then Sasuke went on: “People tell me that I might be happy again as I have found new people” he said. “But they cannot replace the people who got murdered.”

“Of course no one can be replaced”, the baby's uncle said. “You misunderstand us if you think we ask you to forget about your own family because you have found new people.”

Sasuke felt irritated. He had thought of Kakashi, and forgotten that people here had actually never suggested that he should stop mourning for his family. Just that they did not actually approve of his plan for revenge either. 

“Your child is cute, and I like him, but my cousin was cute too, and she was also enjoying life. I can find new people and try to be happy with them, but this won't undo what happened, and it won't bring back my clan to life.”

“No, it won't”, the child's uncle said. 

This time the silence lasted for longer than a minute, then the baby began to cry. Sasuke tried to comfort him by caressing him and rocking him on his knee, but in the end his father took the boy and cradled him in his arms. 

“I'm sorry”, Sasuke said. “It was not my intention to make him cry.”

“It's okay”, the child's mother said. “He'll get over it.”

For half a second she laid her free hand on Sasuke's. He leant against Naruto, feeling exhausted and a bit annoyed with himself. He had not planned to tell his story, or talk about his cousin. He had wanted to enjoy the afternoon with Naruto, with his friends and with the little boy. But then the abyss had opened again. 

They saw it too, he thought. They were silent because no words could bridge it, or make it disappear. Now they were making a fuzz about the baby, talking to him and caressing him, but also playing with him in order to distract him. The child's father lifted him high over his head and then smiled at him from below, then he lowered him again, threw him into the air and caught him. The child laughed. 

The child's uncle and his husband, the guy from Earth Country, joined him, and they took turns in throwing the baby into the air and catching him. Sasuke got up. 

“The men of my family did this too”, he said. “But I was considered too young and too weak.”

The other men passed him the baby. “Now you're a big boy”, they said, and Sasuke swung the child up and down, saying “Little ninja fly – fly – fly” and with the last “fly” he tossed the child high up into the air and caught it again.

Both Naruto and the child's mother watched anxiously while the rest of the men began a contest about who'd throw the child highest up into the air. The child seemed to have a great time, squeeing with joy, still after some time the mother decided to break off the game.


	77. Chapter Seventy-Four: Different values

As Naruto did not show any intention of answering Sakura's letter Sasuke finally took the initiative himself. He sat down at the table, took up a sheet of paper and a pencil, wrote “dear Sakura” and then, in order not to chew on the pencil (he hated it when Naruto did this) he began to draw a row of Uchiha symbols on the margin of the paper, wondering how to begin. Finally he found an opening sentence: 

Please don't worry about Naruto or myself: I am certain that I was gay before I came to Music Town. It's only that in Music Town I found a name for it, and a way to be gay in a respectable manner. Also please stop harassing Naruto. It's definitely not his fault that I turned gay...

He hesitated as this was not the whole truth.

...safe that he can't help being Naruto with his warm smile and his eyes full of love. 

Sexual mores are indeed more relaxed in Music Town. People here have sex just for fun, sometimes even without being in love. It's considered completely normal here. You don't have to be concerned about Naruto or myself, however: we only have sex with each other.

He had met some people who sought themselves a new partner every Saturday. They were quite nice actually, once he had made clear to them that he was taken. He had asked them why they did not try to find someone to fall in love with for longer, and they had told him that they loved change and enjoyed having fun without fetters. Bonds, he had thought, and for some seconds he had considered their way of life, but when he had asked them who they slept with on Tuesdays they had been silent, and he had been glad again that he was with Naruto. He continued his letter: 

I don't see their point, however: Naruto and I have some sex every morning, and some kissing and cuddling every evening, not on on Saturday nights. 

Otherwise it's quite fascinating to explore the different values of people in Music Town. The differences don't only concern sex, but war too. For example, people here believe that the worst thing that can happen to a boy or young man is that he dies in war before he has ever had sex, and they make songs that deplore the fate of such unhappy young men.

He remembered how his own thoughts had run along similar lines once he had discovered that in Music Town homosexuality was considered just as respectable as heterosexuality: Dance with Naruto and then die after avenging his clan. Make out with Naruto and then die after avenging his clan. Have sex with Naruto and then die after avenging his clan. Now they were practising forms of sex he had never dared to dream of, and it was more real and more wonderful than any of his dreams. He still needed to learn how it was to be the active partner before he died, he thought, but somehow he suspected that even then he would not be ready to accept death easily. 

He thought of Itachi who had been turned into the instrument of Konoha's hatred against his clan when he had still been too young even to consider having sex and who had then been forced to spend the rest of his life as a spy against Aktasuki. He had known so little about life.

Yet even though people's values here differ from those in Konoha they are still friendly and helpful and ready to stand up for their friends. They only do it in different ways, that is not through fighting, which is against their rules. They have a lot of rules and it's not easy to get used to them, or even to make sense of them. For example there's houses full of books that give free information to everyone, on the condition that you disclose your identity. Yet they fail completely when it comes to enforcing this rule: it's quite simple to by-pass it by reading the books at their place instead of taking them home, and also, Naruto and I have convinced a friend of us to borrow the books for us in her name. 

I wonder how they may be so generous as the information they provide is amazing. One example: Did you know that the Second Ninja World War was begun by Danzou? Amegakure is small but of high strategic value, and he considered it necessary to conquer it in order to prevent other countries from beating him to it. He did it without the consent of the Sandaime, who approved of the attack only after it had turned out successful. The book said that he had little choice as the population of Konoha was cheering for Danzou at the time. Only that the war as a whole was not a success but ended in some kind of draw with all participating countries being laid waste. 

Naruto keeps telling me that my ignorance is a consequence of leaving Konoha when I was still too young to understand about history, but when I ask him he doesn't know anything either. He's now doing research on the origins of ninjutsu. 

He thought again: Naruto had been travelling with Jiraiya, who had trained him as a ninja and inspired his dreams of peace, but who had obviously not taught him much about the history of the ninja countries. He had not even known about Nagato before he had met him.

Maybe you know more as you stayed in Konoha and had the opportunity to gain more of a formal education. But I guess that even you would be overwhelmed by the hoard of knowledge that's available in Music Town, not only on Konoha and the other ninja countries but also on the outside world beyond them. They have newspapers from these places, books on their history and about their political ideas. Naruto is looking for a book on comparative religious studies he is able to understand. A lot of stuff is difficult for me to understand too, sometimes for the simple reason that it's in a foreign language. People here are able to read foreign languages. They make me and Naruto feel that we are very ignorant, having learnt nothing but fighting. They don't blame us, however: it's rather the system of Konoha that's responsible. We are literally cut off from the world there. People make us also feel that our ignorance make us easy victims of manipulation who may be turned into tools by anyone. We tell them of course that we are no one's tool and that we left Konoha in order not to become tools. 

He had to admit however that people had a point. Itachi had been turned into a tool because he had been too young and ignorant to understand that Danzou and the Elders were betraying him. Itachi had also tried to manipulate him, Sasuke, into killing Naruto, using his pain about the family's massacre as Itachi's pain about war had been used by Danzou. He had understood in time that what he had been about to do was not right – Itachi had not. 

Maybe it was not a matter of youth or ignorance at all, he thought.

People here think that you should be off age before you become a fighter. Having sex when you are still underage is considered okay here, however. As I said, values are different in Music Town. 

The weird thing is that actually the grown-ups here don't fight either, except about football. That's a game Music Town has imported from the outside world, and people are very passionate about it. Naruto is passionate about it, too. He'll explain it to you. 

The most astonishing thing is that actually fighting is considered a childish activity here. The difference to Konoha is that the grown-ups don't employ children as fighters. Instead of teaching them to fight, as people in Konoha do, they rather teach them not to fight. Naruto and myself are expected not to fight either, which is something we have to get used to.

You see: We're doing fine and we learn a lot of things. I include a few photos that were taken of us on one of the festivals in this town. The child is not ours, however, but belongs to some friends. 

Warm regards, Sasuke.

He and Naruto had not realized at the time that they were being photographed, but they had both liked the pictures when they were presented to them. One picture showed them kissing with the child watching them, the other showed them both playing with the kid while it was sitting on Sasuke's lap. Sasuke had asked for some extra copies to send them to Sakura. She should understand now that he and Naruto were really together...

Naruto also wrote some lines, seeing that Sasuke had already written a long letter. He added them at the bottom of what Sasuke had written: 

Dear Sakura!

I have definitely not turned Sasuke gay. He behaved strangely from the moment he arrived in Music Town. If he had not fallen in love with me he'd now be having sex with some local guy and would never return to Konoha. So I am actually doing you a favour.

I include two copies of the Gutsy Ninja, one for you and one for Kakashi. I fear he will be disappointed as it contains hardly any porn, but for me it's the most important book Jiraiya has ever written. He wrote it from his heart, and he also wrote it in memory of Nagato, who first inspired his dream of peace, which has now become my greatest dream too. 

Love, Naruto.


	78. Chapter Seventy-Five: Love is not enough

Sasuke had seen the place more than once, but he had not dared to enter. It was an ordinary building like any other in the side streets in the center of town, housing offices and doctor's practices, but one of the signs next to the door had caught his attention. He had passed it and sought it out repeatedly, he had even once entered the building and taken some information leaflets he had found next to the place he was interested in, but he had not dared to ring the bell. This time, however, Naruto was with him, and Sasuke was determined that he would not chicken out.

Naruto had no idea what Sasuke was up to, and also he had not seen the sign next to the door. He was confused, but he also felt Sasuke's nervousness, and he was determined to protect him, whatever happened. He got nervous himself when Sasuke rang the bell and the door opened by itself when they pushed. They found themselves in an entrance hall with a desk for a receptionist, but no one was inside. For half a minute they stood around waiting, then a door to the adjacent room opened and a woman welcomed them and told them that her secretary had fallen ill so that she had to manage everything by herself, and that they would have to wait for a quarter of an hour, then she would have time for them. 

They had to sit around for twenty minutes, sitting around looking at abstract paintings and at a poster with the announcement that every woman should have a right to decide whether she wanted children or not, and when she wanted children and how many children she wanted.

They still did not talk – Sasuke had behaved in a very mysterious way the whole morning and Naruto did not dare to break the silence.

The door opened again and the woman who had received them said good-bye to a young girl, saying she might return whenever she wanted. She told the boys that they would have to wait for another two minutes, then she would definitely have time.

They nodded, then they watched the girl as she left. She was about their own age, maybe a bit younger, though they always had the impression of being older than Music Town teenagers of their own age: more mature, more serious, having gone through various adventures, having faced death and having learnt to live without parents. This girl was serious too, however, and obviously pregnant. She looked at the two boys as if they were a very strange sight, making them feel uncomfortable. They did not realize that they in their turn looked at her as if she was a very strange sight. It was Sasuke who managed to say good-bye just when she was about to leave, and she whispered good-bye too and closed the door behind her.

Now the woman finally had time. They were allowed to enter her room and asked to sit down at her desk. 

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

“We're in need of a surrogate mother”, Sasuke answered.

The woman looked surprised and a bit irritated. Sasuke got something from the pocket of his jacket – some paper, neatly folded to a very tiny format – and began to unfold it. 

“How old are you?” the woman asked, watching his hands.

“Seventeen.” He had never cared much about Naruto's advice to pretend that he was off age. He had now unfolded the piece of paper, it was the information leaflet of the organization they were at.

“You offer this don't you?” 

The leaflet's section on surrogate mothers was right on top now. Naruto had heard the word, but he wished that Sasuke had shown him the brochure before coming here.

“I'm afraid you are a bit too old”, the woman said. “Most women who long for a child want one who's still small, so that they can actually watch it grow up.”

She did it on purpose, Naruto thought. Sasuke must have understood it too. He remained remarkably calm, however.

“You misunderstood me”, he said. “We are not looking for a mother for ourselves. We are looking for a woman who would give birth to our children.”

It was a hopeless fight, Naruto thought. Still he could not help admiring Sasuke's insistence.

The woman turned now to him, Naruto: “How old are you?” she asked. 

“I'll be seventeen in a few weeks”, he answered. 

“Okay”, she said, dragging out the word. “I guess you both still live with your parents. What do they think of your plan?” 

Both boys cringed, but only for a fraction of a second. By now they had got used to people's default assumption that teenagers lived with their parents.

“We have our own place”, Sasuke said.

“And what do you live on?” 

“We have jobs of course.”

He sounded indignated, and Naruto saw that he had impressed her a bit. 

“What kind of jobs?” 

“At a restaurant.”

“Cooks or waiters?” 

“Waiters.”

“Is it your real profession of just a job?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Can you carry five plates at once, one of them on your lower arm? Do you know which side to pour a class of wine from?” 

“I'm the barista”, Sasuke answered. “No one's more efficient at drawing beer or at mixing drinks.”

The woman looked suspicious. He was making her doubt her decision, Naruto thought. He was doing quite well, actually, given that the fight had been hopeless from the beginning.

“It's a job”, she concluded, “not a profession. How much do you earn?”

“It depends on how much we work.”

“Per hour?”

Sasuke told her. 

“That's not enough”, she said. “You cannot raise a kid on that little money. And you cannot raise a child if you are paid by the hour, not by the month.” 

“So you have to earn enough money to be allowed to have a kid?”

The woman had to think for a few seconds before she found an answer: “When we organize surrogate mothers we want to make sure that the child is doing well.”

“And for this you need money?”

“Yes.”

There was an aggressive undertone in her voice, Naruto thought, probably because she knew that it was problematic to deny someone a child just because they were poor. He could not help admiring Sasuke: he had managed to corner her. He was not certain what he thought of this new adventure Sasuke had dragged him into, but now he decided to support his friend: 

“Money's no problem”, he said. “I am the heir of Jiraiya, the author of the best-selling Icha-Icha series.”

The woman looked stupefied and irritated. This time it took her a minute before she could continue. 

“Well, actually, the real problem is that you are too young. You have to be grown-up if you want to care for a child.”

“I have considered this”, Sasuke replied. “A child does not simply spring into existence. I'll be off age by the time it's born, and Naruto probably too.”

“You'd still be extremely young.”

Sasuke did not give up. “In your brochure you say that you support teenagers with children.”

“Girls”, the woman said.

“Why only girls? It's not fair!”

“Girls get pregnant.”

“And that's why you support them when they have kids, not us.”

“We don't encourage them to get pregnant. We encourage them not to get pregnant. But sometimes it happens all the same, and then we support them as they are still too young to cope with the situation. Help them raise the child themselves, or get an abortion, or get the child adopted.”

So far Naruto had followed the discussion without caring much about its outcome, but when he heard the word “adopted” something clicked with him.

“We can adopt such a child”, he said. “We can care for a child whose mother can't cope.”

He took Sasuke's hands and leant against him.

“That's what we really want. Be parents to a child who has no parents.”

It was not what Sasuke wanted, but he did not contradict Naruto. He caressed his hand: the woman was very irritated. 

“It does not make sense to give a child whose mother is too young to care for him properly to a couple of boys who are too young to care for him too”, she said. “Besides, normally we don't have difficulties finding adoptive parents. There's a long waiting list, and you'd be put right at the bottom of it, if you are allowed on it at all.”

It took Naruto some time to grasp the implications of her words: “You mean there's more people here who want to adopt a child than children who need to be adopted?” 

“Yes. Didn't you know?” She paused for a few seconds, then she understood. “You are not from here, are you?” 

“No.”

“Where are you from?” 

“Konoha.”

“Ah. I can imagine that there the situation is reversed, considering all the war orphans. Well, here most people get kids because they want kids, and they live long enough to see their grand-children grow up, if they don't die from accidents or some illness, so there's few babies who need to be adopted. It's a bit different with older children who had to be removed from their families as their parents could not cope. Most people want an infant who is all theirs to influence, not an older kid who has already accumulated a host of trust issues and behavioural problems.”

Naruto listened. His left hand lay in both of Sasuke's. Now he pressed them. He was excited and felt a bit dizzy, as if he was slightly drunk. 

“We could take one of these”, he said. “We'd love it all the same. We'd help it gain trust. That's what we really long for, isn't it, Sasuke? Be good parents for a child who has never had anyone for himself.” 

The woman looked very sceptical now. “You have very romantic ideas”, she said. “But love is not enough. You need to be tough and strict and patient and not give up, no matter how much trouble the kid causes. A lot of people who are older and more experienced than you have to realize that they're overchallenged and return the kid. You will understand that for the kid this is another horrible experience that will increase his or her distrust of people. We want to avoid this.”

Naruto could understand. “We would not do this”, he said. “We would not forsake such a kid. We'd stick with him, no matter what. We know what it means to feel betrayed and lonely.”

Sasuke's hands hurt now, so hard did Naruto press them.

“Caring for a child is not a way to make up for your own unhappy childhood”, the woman said. “You'll inevitably mess up.” She got up and went to the door. “It's already ten minutes into my lunch break”, she said. “Come back in ten years, and then only after you've discussed among yourselves what you really want.”

The boys got up, feeling numb and rejected. They had to force themselves to smile at the woman as they passed her and wished her a good-bye.

Naruto was the first of them to recover. He wondered what had got into him. He had not had any intention of raising a child before he had entered the building. Still, coming to think of it, he would like to care for a child one day, a child who was lonely as he himself had been, and give him the love he himself had missed. The women's words that he would inevitably mess up had hurt him. 

He led Sasuke to some bench in a nearby park, overlooking a small canal. 

“It's not fair”, Sasuke said. “Having to tell this person our age and our profession and how much we earn so that she can decide whether we're fit to raise children. And a girl can just get pregnant.”

Naruto took his hand. “She meant well”, he said. “She wants to ensure that the child is happy.”

“It would be happy with us”, Sasuke replied. “We'd love it. We'd care well for it.”

Naruto thought about it: for the first time he concretely imagined a baby living with them at their place. “We have no idea about new-born infants”, he said.

“We'd learn it. Other people learn it too.”

“You can't simply use your Sharingan on them.”

Indeed Sasuke was quite certain that this was one of the cases where his Sharingan would not work.

“I can learn the same way other people do”, he said. “Most people manage, after all.”

“But what about the rest? We can't give the child a home. Our place is too small. Juugo's fostermothers told us.”

“We can look for a better place. And for better-paid jobs.”

“We still could not give the child a home, because this is not our home. Our home is Konoha. And we can't take the child with us when we return to Konoha to take down Danzou.”

Sasuke chose his words carefully before he replied. “We could stay here”, he said. “Then for our kid this place would be home, even though we ourselves will remain strangers.” 

To Naruto the suggestion came as a surprise. He also took a long time to answer: 

“So you no longer intend to die after taking revenge against Danzou...”

“I've considered it. Maybe people are correct. Maybe refounding the clan is really more important. You know, it was Itachi who encouraged me to become an avenger, and I guess the administration of Konoha was behind him on that. I guess my parents would have been okay with my decision to make refounding the clan my first priority.” 

On any other occasion Naruto would have answered that yes, probably Sasuke's parents would have been okay with this decision, but now he was not in the mood.

“Why now? Why here?” he asked. “Why can you stay here in this place and let go off your revenge? Why could you not stay in Konoha?” 

Again Sasuke hesitated before he answered. “I can live here”, he said. “In Konoha, life seemed like a dream to me: Playing ninja and doing meaningless missions while all the time I was thinking about how my family had died and how I had found my parents lying dead on the floor. I never knew what was real: my memories of that day, or the life I was living day by day. Here I know that this place is real, and that the murder of my family was real too. Even Konoha as it is now is real too, while the Konoha I was made to believe in was an illusion built upon the deaths of countless people, among them my family. That's why I can live here.”

“What about me?” Naruto asked. “I wasn't an illusion, was I?” 

“You weren't. You were one of the few things that weren't.” 

He reached out to touch Naruto's shoulders and cheeks, but Naruto had not finished. 

“And what shall we do about Konoha`? Shall we just let it go to ruins?”

Sasuke hesitated before he answered. 

“I don't much care about Konoha.”

He might have his revenge after all, he thought, not only against Danzou but against the whole village. He did not even have to do anything, just stay in Music Town, enjoy life and occasionally pick up a newspaper. 

It did not work with Naruto: He really cared. He was still friends with Sakura, with Hinata, with Kakashi and Tsunade, with Iruka. He cared. 

He took Naruto's hand. “We'll drive Danzou out of office”, he said. “You shall become Hokage. We won't allow him to ruin Konoha.” 

Silently he let go off his revenge. Naruto relaxed and leant against him. 

“You really want to raise a kid with me?” he asked. 

“Yes”, Sasuke answered. “You shall be my new family, and I will be yours. That's what wanted when we fought at the valley of the end, isn't it?”

It was not entirely correct, but Naruto did not mind. Being lovers was better than being brothers, he thought. It held a promise for the future. And it was more fun.


	79. Chapter Seventy-Six: Continuing the Tradition

Sasuke had understood that there was no way to convince anyone of letting him and Naruto raise a kid, at least not at the moment. Still he was determined to take some first steps so that he might achieve this aim at a later point in time.

“I'm looking for a better-paid job”, he told Naruto. “You want to come with me?” 

Naruto felt Sasuke's determination, obviously he already knew what kind of job he was going to look for. Considering his most recent experiences he decided that it might be wise not to let Sasuke go on his own into this new adventure. 

Indeed Sasuke already knew what he wanted. He went straight to a place that was a bit hidden between the side streets of the center of town, but nonetheless a nice place with a playground and old men sitting outside of cafes and playing chess and backgammon. There was a huge, rather ugly building on one side of the place whose purpose had remained unknown to Sasuke for a long time (though actually he had not cared much about it either), but reading a brochure he had taken with him after watching the puppet play at the festival he had found out: It was the head quarters of the police. He found it a bit sad that it was not set in a more representative building, or that it did not announce more proudly what it was, but today this was not important: With Naruto in tow he pushed open the entrance door and entered. 

Inside the building was more impressive, though Sasuke could not help noticing that the entrance hall was a bit shabby and neglected. Nonetheless it was several stories high, with a transparent dome on top and galleries running along it on the upper stories. Naruto got nervous, Sasuke's confidence and determination did not offer him any comfort at all. Also after taking care not to get controlled by the police for so long he felt in danger in between so many policepeople, but fortunately no one adressed them to ask what they were doing here. 

Sasuke found an information table near the central staircase, figured out where to go and went to the first floor, Naruto still following him. Here everything was more representative, the corridor was wider, the walls were covered in light wood, there were pictures on the wall and occasionally some chairs to sit on and an extravagant coffee automat. Sasuke went from door to door, reading the signs, still quite confident while Naruto felt more and more insecure. Finally he had found what he was looking for and knocked at the door. A female voice asked him to enter.

He should have expected it, Sasuke thought while he stared at the woman in the room. She was in her fifties, quite overweight, the jacket of her uniform hang next to the door and the two top buttons of her shirt were open, revealing a chain of large, artificial pearls and the spot where her breasts parted. He should have expected it in this town that seemed to be full of women, but at least he had expected a woman who looked a bit like a fighter.

She looked expectantly at Sasuke and he realized that he should stop staring at her breasts. 

“Are you the head of the police?” he asked. 

“I'm his assistant. He's next door. What do you want of him?”

“I came to offer him my services.”

“Ah, really. What makes you think he might need them?” 

“I'm a highly skilled ninja.”

“Are you? Well, how old are you, if I may ask?”

“Seventeen. Is this a problem? Do you have to be off age in order to join the police?” 

“You don't, if you have your parents' consent. Have you discussed your plans with them?”

He stood silent, and the woman began to look irritated. He decided to tell her the truth: “They are dead.”

“Oh, I am sorry.” There were the few seconds of silence Sasuke was already used to. At least she was no longer looking at him as if she considered him quite amusing. “In that case you need the consent of your legal guardian. If you turn around you'll find a brochure that explains how you can apply to become a policeman. You'll need to hurry though: Classes at our training center start soon.”

“I've already read your brochures”, Sasuke replied, taking out the copy he had picked up at the festival, “and I haven't come to apply for your training center, but to offer my services.”

“Well, even if you are good at martial arts there's still a lot of other things you have to learn. You should make up your mind to take part in the entrance exams, if you're really serious about becoming a policeman.”

She fell silent, and turning around Sasuke knew why: Her boss had appeared in the door that connected the two rooms. He was more like Sasuke's idea of a head of police, though he was a bit overweight too.

“So you have a woman to protect you”, Sasuke said.

The man looked irritated, then he smiled. “I have. She's good at it, as you should have noticed.”

It took Sasuke some seconds to understand him. “I came to talk to you, not to attack you.”

“People who want to talk to me are what she's protecting me from”, the man replied. But you're lucky: I happen to have time. Come in!” 

Both boys followed him into his office. He had a look but he also had a table where he sat down to talk to visitors. His assistant brought coffee for all three of them.

“So you're a ninja and want to work for us”, the head of the police said. “Which village are you from?”

“Konoha.”

“Konoha! I have heard it's become difficult to escape from it now. They've even imposed a limit on missions as too many people have deserted. How did you manage to get out?” 

“I left when it was still possible”, Sasuke answered.

“And you made it to Music Town. Most deserters end up in one of the other ninja villages, where they are forced to take a civilian job and otherwise hope for better times.”  
Sasuke grew nervous. Without being aware of it he took Naruto's hand. The head of the police saw it.

“You don't have to explain it. So what makes you want to work for the police here? You're a ninja, after all, not a policeman.”

Sasuke leant back. “My clan used to be in charge of the military police of Konoha.”

The man took a few seconds before he answered. “Used to? And now?” 

“They were murdered. It happened before Danzou became Hokage, but he was the driving force behind the murder.”

“I think I read about it in the paper”, the head of the police replied. “It's was quite some time ago, and I remember it only dimly. So you're the kid who survived...”

“Yes.”

“It was only a small note in the newspaper. One of my colleagues found it, and we discussed it for several days, wondering how such a thing could happen. One always fears for oneself in such a situation. Later we wondered why the murderer was not caught, and why the police was not reestablished.”

Sasuke just listened. 

“So now you want to continue your family's tradition.”

“Yes.”

“And reoganize the police in Konoha once the political situation has changed.”

“We won't wait for that. We plan to drive Danzou out of office by ourselves.”

Naruto wished that Sasuke was a bit more careful. This was not a personal friend after all. 

The man however reacted as everyone they had told about their intentions: He did not take them seriously.

“Well, as long as you keep to the law: joining a group of exiles from Fire Country is fine, kidnapping the ambassador is not.”

“Why should we do this?” Sasuke asked. “Our target is Danzou, not the ambassador.”

The man looked at him for some seconds, then he returned to their original subject. 

“I can imagine giving you training as a policeman. I have to warn you, however: You think that as a ninja you are superior to our people who have to learn martial arts from scratch when they start their career at the police. But there's more to being a policeman than just fighting: you also have to learn when not to fight, and how to end a conflict without fighting.”

“That's okay to me”, Sasuke replied. It was actually what he was most curious to learn.

“And you'll have to learn about rules. In the ninja villages everything is okay if the Kage thinks it necessary to protect the village, including torture and murder. Here, it's strictly forbidden.”

Sasuke straightened. “You confuse the police and ANBU”, he said. “ANBU is without rules. The police has rules.”

Actually he had no idea what these rules may have been. But there must have been some, or Itachi could have been arrested after Shisui's disappearance.

“Still you have to learn about our rules. So I suggest that you apply at our training center. They are normally the people you have to talk to if you want to start a career as a policeman.

Sasuke had hoped that talking directly to the head of the police would get him accepted without having to go through years of training again. Apparently this would not work.

“Do you already know which direction you want to take?” 

Sasuke nodded. “I want to ride one of these big animals. Horses.”

The man leant back and smiled. “But that's for girls”, he said. 

Sasuke felt offended. 

“Oh, well, you're gay, that explains it.”

Now Sasuke felt really hurt. “The warriors of old rode these horses”, he said.

“If you say so. You get a chance to learn to ride them, but I think you'll prefer different tasks with more responsibility. What are your academic qualifications?” 

Sasuke looked confused.

“Which kind of schools did you go to, and which exams did you pass?”

“The ninja academy of Konoha”, Sasuke answered. 

“Sorry, I should have come to that conclusion by myself. We'll probably have to make allowances for you so that you have a chance to pass the entrance exam. I'll talk to people at the training center. Maybe however you will have to return to school for another year or two before you can start your training.”

Sasuke's courage sank. This was not what he had expected.

“And you should apply for citizenship if you haven't done so already. Konoha might see it as a provocation if we train you as a policeman. It will help if we can claim that we are training you for our own police.”

Sasuke had considered that he should finally get some official status. Applying for citizenship was not what he had intended, but he was ready for it. 

“Where can I apply to become a citizen?” he asked. 

“Downstairs on the floor to the left. Fill out your application and then come back with a confirmation that you have applied.”

He looked into his calendar. 

“Tomorrow afternoon I have time. I'll tell my protectress to let you pass.”


	80. Chapter Seventy-Seven: Police Cooperation

They went downstairs, and now Sasuke was neither too proud nor too insecure to ask people for directions. He felt glad and confident now, even without any legal documents: He'd apply for citizenship right now, so nothing could happen.

They found the office that was in charge of such applications, and when it was their turn to enter they discovered that the woman behind the desk was an acquaintance of theirs: a lesbian woman who occasionally turned up at dance teas. 

“Finally”, she said when she learnt that Sasuke intended to apply for citizenship. She was shocked, however, when she learnt that he had not even been accepted as a refugee, nor that he had applied for such a status. She recommended him to do this first, took a new form from her shelf and began to fill it in: 

“Reason for flight: homosexuality” she wrote, and she also inserted Sasuke's given name by herself. She had to ask for his family name, however, (it did not ring any bell at all) and also for the date of his birth. Silently she did some calculations, then she wrote “minor” on the top right corner of the form.

“Will this cause any problems?” Sasuke asked. 

“No. On the contrary: it gives you the right to some extra support. Now to your application for citizenship...”

She had to fill in more or less the same boxes as in the other form, just that there wasn't a question “reason for flight” but instead a question for the “motivation” of the applicant. She ticked of a box that said “refugee wants to make his stay permanent.” When she came to the next question, “dancing”, she wrote “Latin/Ballroom”, but when she got to the question “Musical Instrument” she looked expectantly at Sasuke. 

“I don't play any”, he said.

“You should at least have started to learn”, she replied. “You've been staying here for several months now, haven't you? You should pay more respect to our culture if you want to live here. The quality of your dancing partly makes up for it, but you won't get accepted as a citizen if you don't play anything at a level that allows you to join some musical activities among friends, just for your own fun, not for any listeners.”

“I can dance when other people play”, Sasuke said.

“It's not enough. You have to be able to play. Your dancing will profit from it too. Well, you have some time left to choose an instrument and a teacher. There's always some bureaucratic delays if you want to get accepted as a citizen.”

Sasuke felt humiliated.

She also asked him where he had lived since his arrival in Music Town and, more importantly, what he had lived on. She informed him that probably he would have to pay taxes for the months since his arrival. “But don't worry about it now”, she said. “Wait until you get your acceptance as a refugee.”

“How long will that take?” Sasuke asked. 

“A week maybe. There's number of people who have to sign it. But I don't think there'll be problems. There's enough people who know that you are gay.”

In spite of her reassurrance Sasuke felt intimated by the idea of the bureaucratic effort that was necessary to get accepted as a refugee. Still he could be content: Everything has gone smoothly so far. It should not last: 

“Now I need your ID or your passport or some other document of identification. I have to attach a copy of it to your application.”

Sasuke had to admit that he didn't have any such document.

“You ran away without anything to prove who you are?” the woman asked, sounding as if she did not know that it was possible to exist without such a piece of paper. 

Sasuke assumed the air of arrogance that Naruto had thought typical for him before they had become friends. He took off his jacket and showed her the symbol of his clan just below the collar. It was much less obtrusive than the version he had worn in Konoha, but he still applicated the crest on every item of clothing he bought...

“This shows who I am”, he said. 

The woman had a look. “Forging it isn't a challenge to anyone with some rudimentary sewing skills”, she said. 

“Nobody would dare this. The clan would not tolerate it. I would not tolerate it.”

The woman did not seem impressed, she rather looked as if she found Sasuke's words and attitudes rather weird. 

“How do I know that you yourself are not an usurper?” she asked. 

“You can forge a symbol, but you cannot forge the Sharingan”, Sasuke replied. He activated it: He had not done so for quite some time, and he felt a bit stupid. 

“That's gross”, the woman said when she saw it. “You're certain it's not some kind of illness?” 

She agreed to take down some notes, however, and even did a rough sketch of the pattern, then she sent Sasuke to some photo automat in the entrance hall. “We need photos, both for the applications and for your final documents”, she said. 

Sasuke returned with the photos, and she passed him the copies of his applications. “It will serve you as legal documents until you get officially accepted. It may take some time as we need to confirm your identity, but there's no need to worry. We'll find a solution, even if in the end your identity can't be confirmed. As a minor you have a right to be protected. - What about you, Naruto? Do you intend to apply for citizenship too?”

Naruto shook his head, taken by surprise. The whole morning he had regarded himself as a mere observer, not someone who might take action himself. 

“You should. It will make life much easier.”

“Some other day, maybe”, he answered. 

The copies of his two applications in his hand Sasuke left the building, Naruto at his side. Things had been more difficult than he had expected, and having to prove his identity had felt humiliating; yet slowly he gained a sense of achievement: He would get accepted as a refugee, and he had been invited to apply to the training center. It was not exactly what he had hoped for, but it was still some success. 

He and Naruto had agreed to meet the guy from Earth Country and his husband for lunch, and both were delighted when they heard of these developments. “Finally you've become reasonable”, they said. They also approved of Sasuke's decision to apply for a job at the police, though they found this a bit weird after having stayed illegally in Music Town for several months. They understood him, however, when he told them that his family had been in charge of the police in Konoha. 

 

Their friends from the riverside did not show that kind of understanding. Naruto felt how they literally distanced themselves from Sasuke when he told them of his plans, so that there was suddenly a lot of empty space around him. 

“We thought you knew what it's like to be prosecuted by the state”, they said. “And now you're changing sides and work for the state yourself.”

“We thought you were planning an assault against Danzou! How can you join the police if you're planning an assault?” 

“The police of Music Town has nothing to do with Konoha or Danzou”, Sasuke replied. 

“They do. They're the same everywhere. And they cooperate, even when they work for different political systems. Hunting down enemies of the state is always their most important task.”

At this point Sasuke got annoyed. “You have the wrong idea”, he said. “You think you are prosecuted by the police because you discuss weird political ideas from abroad, but in reality it's just because you hang out after ten where this is not allowed.” (Just now they were doing this again.) “You have no idea what it means if ANBU is coming down on you. You think you are prosecuted when the police is checking your ID.”

“You have no idea,” the young people replied. “You have never been at a demonstration where they stand side by side with their shields and sticks, ready to beat you up.”

Sasuke was silent, as he did not have any idea what a demonstration was. Whatever it was, he would not get beaten up, he decided. One of the women passed him a bottle of beer, showing him that he was still accepted, even though he was a traitor now. After some awkward moments they changed to a different subject. 

The person who had most difficulties to accept Sasuke's new plans was actually Naruto. He had been completely surprised by Sasuke's plan to reorganize the police of Konoha once they had returned and taken Danzou out of office. “You might have told me!” he said when they went home in the evening. 

“You don't have any objections, do you?” 

Naruto hesitated. He had hoped that Sasuke would choose a job that allowed him to be near him: some kind of advisor, or head of his bodyguard. 

“The bodyguard consists of ANBU”, Sasuke said. “I won't join ANBU.”

Naruto knew that any attempt to make Sasuke change his mind in this matter was hopeless. 

“You should abolish ANBU altogether, by the way”, Sasuke continued. “You can keep the bodyguard, if you want, but you should get rid of the assassination unit.”

“You've allowed yourself to be influenced by the ideas of Music Town. In Konoha, traditions are different.”

They walked on.

“Traditions can be changed”, Sasuke finally said. “You don't want to govern Konoha the same way as Danzou, do you?”

“And you want to reestablish the police of Konoha in the image of that of Music Town. Do you plan a puppet theatre too?” 

Sasuke knew that Naruto said this in order to hurt him, still he took the suggestion seriously.

“We might have one at the entrance ceremony of the ninja academy. Kids might like it better than the usual speeches.”

Naruto remembered the speech at his (and Sasuke's) entrance ceremony. He had understood only half of it, and grown bored after only five minutes, but also it had given him a glimpse into a future of honour and greatness, a sense of becoming part of something that was greater than himself, and some hope of finally finding friends and being accepted by trying hard and doing his best to become a capable ninja. He doubted that a puppet play could convey all this. Maybe a different play than the one they had watched at the festival, he decided.

“Children here are different from children in Konoha”, he said.

They walked on in silence. At least Sasuke was making plans now about life in Konoha after defeating Danzou, Naruto thought, and this restored hope and happiness to him. He took Sasuke's hand and then laid his arm around his shoulders until they arrived at their place.

The next day he again accompanied Sasuke to his appointment with the head of the police to discuss the modalities of his application to the training center of the police. Sasuke had taken with him the copies of his applications to be accepted as a refugee and as a citizen of Music Town: he was in high spirits, full of expectations. Now he would stay legally in this place, and he would start a meaningful career instead of waiting for Naruto to find a plan to defeat Danzou. He'd have a new home, now that Konoha had ceased to be home. His parents would be content too. 

As promised, the assistant in the anteroom did not cause any trouble this time, she just told them to wait for five minutes as the head of police was talking to another visitor. After ten minutes they were allowed to enter, and again took place at the table in the office of the head of the police. Sasuke passed him the two copies of his applications, but he only cast a short glance at them. 

“It's all been checked”, he said. “The information you gave us is correct, you will be accepted as a refugee and you will be eligible for citizenship once you've started learning a musical instrument. Your identity has been confirmed too: Being in the center of an incident covered by the international press has its advantages. However, another problem as occured: The Raikage of Kumogakure has requested that you should be delivered to his village in case you were found in Music Town, or any other place in the Ninja Countries, as you are considered responsible for the death of his brother Killerbee.”

Sasuke froze. 

“Don't worry. We don't deliver minors to places where they will probably be executed. However, murder is considered a serious crime here, too, so we would appreciate it if you could tell us more about the affair.”


	81. Chapter Seventy-Eight: Polite

“It's not true”, Sasuke said. “I haven't killed him.”

“There were witnesses who watched you fight him”, the head of the police replied.

“They saw me fight him, not kill him.”

“They saw you carry away his body.”

“He was alive when I did this. He still is alive.”

For the first time the head of the police looked insecure. 

“Why should I believe you?”

“He lives in Music Town. He gives concerts. I saw his picture in the magazine that announces events in the city. I can fetch it for you. I've seen it in the entrance hall.”

“You stay here”, the head of the police said. “Your friend may go and fetch it.”

Naruto hesitated. He was just as shocked as Sasuke by the head of the police's accusations: why had Sasuke fought the Raikage's brother? What kind of business did he have with Cloud Village?”

“Will you fetch the magazine for me?” Sasuke asked. “It's on the table right to the big staircase.”

Slowly Naruto got up and left for the entrance hall. In spite of Sasuke's instructions it took him quite a while to find it. He returned to the head of the police's office and gave the magazine to Sasuke, watching him expectantly. It took Sasuke a few minutes to find the picture he was looking for – he was very nervous and he kept turning two pages at once. When he had finally found it he smiled and relaxed. 

“Killerbee and the Wasps with their unique blend of rhythms from Kumogakure and modern rap”, Naruto read. 

Sasuke passed the magazine to the head of the police, who looked at it for a long time and compared it to some other pictures that had been lying on his desk.

“So you are obviously not responsible for the man's death. Still we need to find out more about what actually happened.”

He went to the door and called his assistant. “Gather a team to find this guy and bring him here!” he told her, showing her the magazine. “I'll write an official order.”

“You don't intend to arrest this man”, Naruto said. “He was the victim, wasn't he?” 

“That's what we want to find out, which is why we are inviting him to come as a witness and speak for himself. We'll be polite, and we'll find a time that suits him. You may accompany our team, if you want, and convince yourself that we don't use any force.” 

Naruto was not certain. “What about Sasuke?” he asked. 

“He stays. I want to talk to him.”

“Interrogate him, you mean?”

“If you want to express it like this: Yes.”

“And torture him...” 

“We don't torture people. We think torture is effective if you want to obtain a confession, but completely useless if you want to learnt the truth.”

“I'll rather stay and see that nothing happens”, Naruto replied. 

“I'm afraid that this is not possible: I need to talk to him alone. You either go with the team that fetches Killerbee, or you wait outside in my assistant's office and have some tea or coffee.” 

There was no way to disobey. Naruto got up, and Sasuke got up too: He knew he had to stay, but he took Naruto's hand and drew him into an embrace. he rarely did this in public, but now he needed to feel his friend's support. 

“I did not kill the Raikage's brother”, he said. 

Naruto caressed his back, thinking that Sasuke did not have to tell him this, as that Killerbee was obviously still alive. However there were a number of other questions he wanted to ask him. He did not press him as tightly against himself as he did on other days, and it was him who dissolved the embrace when he saw that the head of the police's assistant was waiting for him in the door that connected the two rooms.

She did not go searching for Killerbee herself but had organised a team of two younger policewomen. (Again women, Naruto thought. It made sense: tracking down a man who was needed only as a witness should not be too dangerous.) With the magazine in their hands they walked to the place where the concert was to take place, asking questions until they found the manager of the concert. He hesitated when they asked him about Killerbee's address, but gave them the information when they showed their badges. 

Killerbee's abode was in some backyard in one of the areas near the centre of town where tourists were rare so that old buildings were not fixed but were allowed to dissolve slowly into the parts they had been built from. Naruto and the two policewomen stepped over bricks, beams and heaps of sand, and then climbed some stairs that ran outside the building, then they rang some improvised bell. A young woman opened, clad in a light cotton dress, looking as if she had just left her bed. She offered a stark contrast to the two policewomen with their uniforms and tight hair buns.

“We need to talk to this man”, the younger of the policewomen said. “He's needed as a witness in a case of murder.”

“Killerbee”, the young woman shouted into the dark apartment. “The police wants to talk to you. Someone has been murdered.”

She asked the two policewomen and Naruto to come into the entrance hall. There was a sweet smell Naruto had learnt to reccognize by now: the policewomen must have noticed it too, but they did not mention it. The young woman closed the door behind them and then disappeared into the darkness of the apartment. After some time the man from the magazine appeared, tall and barrel-chested, wearing nothing but his boxers. The women and even Naruto had to look up to him.

“What do you want of me?” he asked. “I haven't murdered anyone.” 

The two women were completely unimpressed. “Are you Killerbee, brother of the Raikage?” they asked.

“What? No, I'm not the brother of the Raikage. I'm an ordinary citizen of Music Town, just as anyone else.”

The women looked irritated and a bit annoyed. It had been supposed to be a simple task, finding the man's place and taking him to the head quarter of the police, but now things were getting complicated. They talked among each other, then the younger one left. 

“She'll doublecheck our information. Maybe there was a mistake indeed.” She held up the magazine. “Is that you?” 

“I haven't done anything wrong. You don't have proof against me. You can't arrest me.”

“You are needed as a witness”, the woman said.

“I haven't witnessed a murder. I live an ordinary life here, just as anyone else.”

It took the woman quite some effort now not to show her annoyance. 

“A young man has been accused of killing the brother of the Raikage. You will understand that this is quite a serious accusation and that we have to check how much of it is true. So if you are the brother of the Raikage it would be a good idea to be honest and clear the young man of that charge, and help us find out what really happened.”

The man hesitated for a few seconds. “So why do you care that the Raikage's brother got murdered? Is this not the business of the Cloud?”

“Murder is everyone's business, and as we happen to have found the young man, it's our business in particular.”

“Are you speaking about him?” the man said, gesturing at Naruto. “I have never seen him.”

The woman smiled knowingly. 

“It's about my friend”, Naruto said, “He's been accused of killing you, and we need you to appear at the police to prove that you are still alive.”

“Well, you see that I'm not dead”, the man replied.

“That's not enough. We need to confirm your identity.”

“We really need it”, Naruto added. “We really need to know that the Raikage's brother is not dead, so that we can tell the Raikage that he can stop chasing my friend.

“You don't tell the Raikage. I don't need him to track me down in this place. I'm happy here.”

“It's in your own interest that you come with us”, the policewoman said. “Even if he obviously hasn't killed you the young man still may be put to trial for attempting to kill you, or injuring you,. You certainly don't want him to remain unpunished.”

“I'm alive and I'm fine”, the man said. “I don't care.” 

“I need to know too”, Naruto said. “He's my friend, so I need to know whether he attacked you.”

“Ask him, if you need to know. I'm able to deal with those who attack me. I was able to deal with him too. So stop bothering me and leave me in peace.”

He wanted to pass Naruto and the policewoman in order to open the door for them, but the woman blocked his way. 

“I am sorry but we have to keep bothering you. If this young man really tried to murder you we can't let him roam around freely in Music Town. So if you may show us your ID in some other document that proves who you are...”

“I don't have it with me”; the man said. 

The policewoman was on the point of losing her patience. Naruto wondered what would happen if she did – he had already feared for her when she had stepped into the man's way. He prepared to defend her, if necessary.

“You are at your own place. Go to your living-room or your bedroom and fetch your ID, and then we'll go to the head quarter of the police. And don't try to escape through the window: We've called reinforcement.”

Naruto held his breath – now the man would attack. But he did not – he went into his apartment and after several minutes he returned fully clothed with a huge poster.

“That's me”, he said and unfolded it: a portrait larger than life, with the text “Killerbee and the Wasps: get introduced to the mysterious rhythms of Kumogakure.”

The woman smiled: “So let's go!”


	82. Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Abyss

Sasuke was waiting at the head of the police's table, getting more and more nervous while the policeman, instead of interrogating him, tidied his desk, read and signed some papers that were lying there, and then called his assistant to tell her that she should send a message to his wife that in the afternoon he would pick up their grand-children from kindergarten so that she could stay at work as long as she had to. 

Sasuke watched him doing all these things, trying to keep down the panic that rose within him. He had been able to restrain his grip on himself while he had told the officer about the magazine, but now as he was waiting for Killerbee to arrive and give his version of events he could not stop the fantasies about what would happen to him. It was quite predictable, actually. Killerbee would tell that he and his team had attacked him out of the blue with the intention of delivering him to Akatsuki, and then he'd get executed or expelled from town or sent to Kumogakure, or whatever people in Music Town thought appropriate for someone who had tried to abduct a person and deliver him to a criminal organization. 

The abyss opened again. He had been able to avoid it for a long time now, even at moments when he talked about his family. Talking about his family to friends, or sitting in front of the one remaining photo and leaning against Naruto had taught him to remain in the present even while he thought about the past, and to embrace present and future while remaining rooted in the tradition of his family. As he had told Naruto: In Music Town life was possible for him. Now however the life he had found for himself was crumbling and breaking down, the earth opened again, threatening to devour him, and he could not even blame anyone else: He himself had committed a horrible crime, he had tried not to think about it (which had not been difficult at all), but now it was catching up with him.

He could still escape: Blow up the building, leave the town and be a fugitive again. Then he might do what he had intended all the time: Destroy Konoha. He did not do it, however, but remained where he was, waiting for Killerbee to arrive and give testimony on his and his team's attack, his heart aching physically as he realized that no matter what he did everything he had gained in Music Town had vanished like a soap bubble. 

Finally the head of the police had finished discussing his grand-children's newest achievements (tying shoe-laces) with his assistant and returned to his office.

“You look horrible”, he said. “You want a glass of water?”

Sasuke nodded. 

The head of the policed filled him a glass at the tap and placed it on the table. Taking a sip Sasuke managed to calm down. That's people here, he thought, friendly and considerate even when they accuse you of attempted murder, and still it would be a mistake to think they'd forget about the accusation. 

His heart hurt again from the thought that his stay in this town had come to an end. Again it took him some seconds to get a grip on himself so that he could talk again.

“What are you going to do to me?” he asked. 

The head of the police shrugged. “It depends on what you did to the brother of the Raikage.”

He should not have asked, Sasuke realized. 

“I can comfort you in one point, however: You won't get executed. We don't kill minors here. And neither do we torture anyone.”

He was still underage in this place, Sasuke thought, still protected by the law even though he was accused of attempted murder. He thought of Itachi, who had been only thirteen when he had murdered the clan. He would have been protected by the law here, too. Sasuke wondered whether as a child he would have been able to accept this – when he had been seven Itachi had seemed quite grown-up to him, but now at the age of seventeen he understood that Itachi had still been a child, manipulated to kill his own family, and that he had not deserved to die.

“Will you then turn me out?” he asked.

“Out of what?” 

“Out of town.”

“This will definitely not happen”, the man answered. “You will probably have to stay in town for a couple of years.”

Sasuke wondered. 

“The most likely punishment will be a few years in prison. Quite a few years, if you attempted to kill the Raikage's brother, which is what the case looks to me at the moment.”

“I did not attempt to kill him.”

“Then at least you fought him and carried him away when he was unconscious. This is considered a crime here, too.”

“It was not what it looked like”, Sasuke replied. “I did not carry away his true self.”

It was clear that the man did not believe him.

“Now, before we continue this I want to give you a piece of advice”, he said. “You can cooperate and tell me the truth, or you can make up stuff and tell me weird stories. It's your choice. But not only I myself but also the judge who will finally decide how many years you will have to spend in prison will look at you more mildly if you don't make us figure out everything by ourselves.”

“But it's true”, Sasuke said. “It's a ninja trick. He made some item look as if it were him while he gave himself the appearance of that item. It's quite common, actually, and young ninja learn to expect it and take counter measures or to see through the trick.” 

He did not have to tell the man that the item had actually been a tail of the Hachibi, Sasuke thought.

The head of the police sighed. “Ninja tricks. They always complicate things. The world would be a better place without them. Well, in the end you will have to persuade your judge, not me. So the Raikage's brother used that trick against you during your fight, and you saw through the trick so that now you are able to explain it to me. Why did you not take countermeasures?”

“It came convenient to me”, Sasuke answered. “I did not want to abduct him, but I had to find a solution to the problem of how to deceive Akatsuki.”

“Akatsuki? What's Akatsuki got to do with it?” 

“I had a deal with them.”

“So it was for them that you attacked Killerbee and carried him away: You delivered him to Akatsuki.”

“Not him. The thing that had taken his form.”

“But you had an agreement with Akatsuki?”

“Yes.”

The head of the police took a deep breath.

“You are aware that currently Akatsuki is considered one of the most dangerious terrorist organizations of the ninja world?” 

“Yes.”

The man hesitated for a few seconds before he continued the interrogation. Sasuke also considered his own strategy. He was not good at that kind of thing at all.

“So what exactly is the nature of your connection with Akatsuki that you agreed to fight and abduct the Raikage's brother for them?” 

“It was a loose alliance between them and my team and myself. We had a deal: I'd capture the Raikage's brother, who's the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki, and they'd give me the bijuu.”

The head of the police took a long time to think before he answered.

“That's a weird deal. What was in it for Akatsuki?” 

Sasuke had never considered it. He got a cramp in his stomach as he understood that they must have had something in mind they had not talked about.

“I did not think about it when we bade the deal”, he said. “I only asked what would be in it for myself. I guessed they planned for a long-term alliance, but this has never been my intention. I only thought about my side of the deal: delivering the Hachibi's jinchuuriki and obtaining the bijuu.”

“What did you need the bijuu for?” 

“To destroy Konoha.”

It was obvious that the man did not approve of this idea, but otherwise Sasuke was not able to read his expression. He considered activating his Sharingan but he had already learnt that it was not very efficient for reading emotions. 

“My whole family was murdered by Konoha”, he explained. “I came home in the evening and everyone I cared about was dead. I had been part of a large clan where everyone cared for everyone else and each person, even a small child as myself, had his place with his duties and the care and respect that suited his position. And then suddenly everyone was dead, and I was all on my own, having to look after myself, with no one who loved me and cared for me, and with no one whom I loved and had obligations to. The only obligation that was left to me was to avenge my clan, and then the abstract claim of Konoha that I should become a ninja of the Leaf and fight for them. They did not tell me of course that Konoha itself had been responsible for my family's murder, but even in spite of my ignorance I felt less and less able to acknowledge their claim on me as they had never done anything for my family or myself. So I ran away.”

“When did you learn that Danzou was behind the massacre?” 

“Only after I had been away from Konoha for a few years. This was when I decided to destroy the village.”

Sasuke held his breath while he waited for the man's judgement. At least he did not condemn him immediately.

“I understand your pain and your anger”, the man said. “But there's other ways to deal with it than to destroy the whole village of Konoha.”

“Which ones? Don't forget that Danzou is still Hokage.”

“He won't be Hokage forever.”

“No. Only until he dies from some natural cause as a very old man, while the life of my family was cut off, whether they were seventy or forty or only two years old.”

“Some things can't be changed”, the head of the police said. “You don't want to be responsible for the death of some two-year-old children yourself, do you?” 

“No one cared about the two-year-olds of my clan.”

This time the silence lasted for a few minutes. 

“Do you still intend to destroy Konoha?” the head of the police finally broke it.

“No. I can't if I want to keep Naruto as my lover.”

“I'm glad to hear that he disapproves of that plan. It's impossible to undo a wrong by another wrong.”

“It's impossible to undo the murder of my family at all. They won't come back to life.”

“That's true.”

There was the abyss, Sasuke thought, gasping between himself and the head of the police. Neither of them was falling into it, but the head of the police was staring into it too, not knowing what to do about it. 

“It's not about undoing my family's murder”, Sasuke continued. “It's about setting a sign. You cannot murder the Uchiha and live happily ever after.”

Again the head of the police took some time to come up with a reply: “Now you will have to find a different way of setting a sign.”

“Yes. Naruto promised me that we will find a way to take Danzou out of power. Then he will have to pay.”

“I forgot: you already told me about that.”

He takes this plan less seriously than my intention to destroy Konoha, Sasuke thought. It made sense: Destroying Konoha as a whole was easier than only taking Danzou out of power. 

“Well, it's not my job to judge you on a crime you never committed and no longer intend to commit. My job is to deal with your fight against Killerbee and his intended abduction and delivery to Akatsuki”, the head of the police then concluded.


	83. Chapter Eighty: Justice

The policeman took a sip of his coffee.

“So you are trying to tell me that Killerbee changed into an object and made that object take his form, and that you decided not to capture his true self but instead went for the object that looked like him and deceived Akatsuki.”

“It's a bit more complicated. I had been looking for a way to deceive Akatsuki from the beginning of the fight.”

The man leant back, really curious now. “So this is when you decided to deceive Akatsuki.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“He was quite cool actually. A bit weird, but funny. There was no reason why he should end up as a prisoner of Akatsuki.”

“And if he had not been cool, but...” the man had to think “...a bit boring, for example, or rather on the depressive side?” 

Sasuke considered it. “I guess it would have been the same.” 

“You might have come to this conclusion by yourself before starting the fight. Then you would not be in trouble now. It's not so difficult, is it? Realizing that you cannot abduct a man who has nothing to do with your family's murder, and abduct him to Akatsuki.”

Sasuke nodded. 

“What would they have done to him anyway?” 

“I don't know. Somehow get the Hachibi out of him, probably.”

The head of the police looked at him, trying to read his face. 

“You haven't heard that except for the Kazekage all jinchuuriki captured by Akatsuki are dead?” 

Sasuke was shocked, even though somehow he had guessed that Akatsuki did not care about the wellbeing of the jinchuuriki they captured. 

“I suspected that extracting the bijuu is dangerous. I did not know it was fatal.”

“It is. I hope you are relieved now that you delivered some object and not the Raikage's brother himself.”

Sasuke was relieved, though not so much about the Raikage's brother as about the fact that Naruto had not been captured by that Pain.

“I understand that I should not have entered any alliance with Akatsuki and that I should never have agreed to capturing the Raikage's brother”, he said. “It should not have been necessary to actually see him to understand that it was wrong to attack him and attempt to abduct him. I should have known in advance.”

“Indeed”, the head of the police said. He looked at the notes he had been taking during the interrogation. “I will now write a report about what you told me, but you will also have to tell your story to your judge, and convince him that at the time you fought Killerbee you already regretted that you had agreed to capture him, and that you were glad when he made that object take his appearance so that you could deliver it to Akatsuki and deceive them. It won't be easy: Your defense depends solely on your intentions, and there's no action of yours to prove that you were not deceived yourself by Killerbee so that your attempt to abduct him turned out a failure. We'll have to hear Killerbee's version of events, of course, but I guess that there will still remain several years in prison for you for attacking him.”

Sasuke's hope sunk. He had thought that he had managed to awaken the man's compassion and understanding but as it seemed he was like everyone in this place: Listening to his or Naruto's words, showing surprise, confusion or understanding, but in the end sticking to their rules. One of their rules was that not the man in front of him, but some judge would have to decide about his fate, Sasuke thought, and he felt a bit milder about the policeman. In the worst case he could still blow up the place and be a fugitive again. 

“You'll be allowed to learn a trade, or acquire some academic qualifications, so that your time won't be completely wasted. But it will still be a punishment: Your friend will be allowed to visit you only on Sunday afternoons.”

Sasuke tried to imagine it: He had no idea how prisons in Music Town were organized (or prisons in Konoha, for that matter), but if you were able to learn a trade, or acquire some academic qualifications they were probably something you could survive. 

They've built beams into the abyss that kept you from falling indefinitely, he thought, and he felt a bit comforted. 

“What happens to me when I get out?” he asked. “Will I then have to leave the town?” 

“Probably not. You are not safe in the ninja countries. We'll have to keep you. You want to stay, don't you?” 

“Yes.”

“I guessed so. We can make arrangements that you can still join the police afterwards, if that's still your intention. We'll probably have to get you some extra permissions as normally convicted criminals can't join, but rules can be changed if there's good reasons to do so. We'll discuss it when the judge has come to a decision.”

When I know how long I will have to stay in prison, Sasuke thought. I can still blow up the place... 

“There's one question I still have to ask you”, the head of the police continued. “I've been wondering about it since I saw the Raikage's request: What drove you to apply to the police when you knew that your were charged with murder? You did not hope that it would remain hidden, did you?”

Sasuke shook his head. He decided that with everything he had already told he could remain honest.

“I did not think of it. I was aware that Danzou is looking for me, but people told me that desertion is not considered a crime here. I did not think of the Raikage.”

“You did not think of the man whom you attacked with the intention to abduct him and deliver him to Akatsuki?” 

“I did not do it. I had no idea that he had not returned to Kumogakure and that the Raikage might consider him dead. It's only a week ago that I discovered his photo in the magazine. It was a weird feeling, knowing that the man whom I had attacked was living in Music Town and that I could meet him any time on the street, but nothing that would have kept me from applying for a job at the police.”

The head of the police pondered his words. “It makes sense. Still, with your past as a rogue nin and all the crimes you intended to commit and refrained from committing: what induced you to change sides?”

“I was not born a rogue nin”, Sasuke replied. “I told you already that my family was in charge of the military police of Konoha. As a child I was just like children in Music Town, though a better fighter than most of them. I trusted that there were laws, and that the police takes care of people who break the law. I planned to join the police when I grew up. I considered it my duty, both as a member of my clan and as one of the best student ninja of my class. I did not know that it was possible to murder the whole police and escape, or that the Hokage and his advisors might decide that my whole family should be killed. As a child I believed in a world that's good and just and reliable and that does not suddenly fall into pieces right beneath your feet. But then they all got killed, and I was all on my own and no one cared. No one talked to me, no one told me that the police would soon capture him and that then he would receive his just punishment. That's what you'd tell a child, wouldn't you?”

“Probably. And if the murderer is out of reach because he has escaped to another country we still do everything we can to make that country deliver him and inform the child of our efforts.”

“You see! In Konoha, no one thought of this. I was told to be brave, and otherwise I was left alone in my despair. So I made up my mind to take revenge by myself, killing the murderer. I could not do it immediately, as I was still very young, so I focussed on my training and did everything to become as strong as possible, but this was not enough. Konoha did not only refuse to hunt down the murderer, they also refused to support me in my efforts to hunt him down myself. So this was when I left and became a rogue nin in the eyes of Konoha. I did not care. I'd be able to defend myself if anyone attacked me. Not being rogue nin had not protected my family from being killed, so it didn't make a difference.”

The head of the police listened intently.

“Here I am protected by the law, and it makes a difference. In Konoha, there was no law. The administration was allowed to kill my family, as they were suspected of attempting a coup d'etat, and ANBU was allowed to hunt me down, as I was a deserter. It was not necessary to take a close look at what I had done, or why I had done or what my intentions were. Here you ask questions before you decide that someone deserves to be killed.”

“Well, we do. Otherwise there'd be too many mistakes. Well, there still are mistakes, but without having a close look there'd be even more.”

“As a kid I did not care about asking questions either”, Sasuke continued as if the man had not spoken. “No one had taught me that this is important. I accepted that it was my right and my duty to avenge the murder of my family and did not ask any questions about what drove him to commit the crime. It did not come to my mind that not one criminal, even crazy person was responsible for the murder but that it was committed on orders of the Leaf itself. When I heard this, all my remaining trust that the world is all in all a good place broke down. I came to believe that any idea of justice, of laws, of limits, is an illusion and that the world is just a place where the strongest prevail. It was then that I agreed to deliver Killerbee to Akatsuki. I thought it did not matter. I thought that in a world without justice it made no difference whether I abducted a person who had nothing to do with my family's murder. I was wrong, of course. Even though there was no justice in Konoha it did not mean that there was no justice in the world. Even if there was no justice in the world it would not mean that justice does not exist. I did not understand it when I made my deal with Akatsuki, but I understood it when I actually saw Killerbee. I understand it even better now. But then it was too late to cancel my agreement with Akatsuki and I had to find a way to trick them.”

The head of the police waited a few seconds before he answered. 

“Justice”, he said. “That's a great word. We do our best to achieve it. But now it seems it has caught up with you.”

It felt as if a trap had snapped. He had set up the trap himself, Sasuke realized, with his speech and even before, when he applied for a job at the police.

He straightened. He would not blow up the place and run away. He would face whatever kind of justice Music Town held in store for him.

“Yes, justice has caught up with me”, he said. “I will welcome her.”

It would not be the end of the world, he thought. They had rules here, even for someone who was charged with murder. They would not kill him. They checked facts and found out that they could only charge him with attempted murder, if anything, as the alleged victim was still alive, and they would convict him only if he was not able to convince them that he had not even intended to kill the Raikage's brother. He braced himself.

“I have one request”, he said. “If there could be some arrangements that Naruto won't hear of all this. I'd rather keep it hidden from him.”

The head of the police was perplexed. “Why? How?” he asked. “How should this be possible?” 

Sasuke shrugged. “Just don't tell him.”

“He will notice when you go to prison, won't he?” 

Sasuke shrugged again. “Don't tell him where I go.”

“You mean we just keep young and in three or five or ten years you turn up again, without telling you where you've been.”

“Yes.”

“And he will wait for you and welcome you back as his lover, without asking any questions?”

Sasuke hesitated for a few seconds. He trusted Naruto to remain his friend, but not to remain his lover.

“Yes”, he answered all the same.

“No”, the head of the police answered. “It would be possible to make arrangements if this was not an international affair with complicated political implications, but as it is it cannot be kept secret. We'll try to respect your privacy as much as possible as you are still underage, but the fact that you're being put to trial can't be hidden, as little as the outcome of the trial. We have to inform the Raikage to satisfy him, and it can't be helped that your friend learns about it too. You should be glad: It's far easier to keep him as your lover if he is allowed to visit you on Sunday afternoons. It will be difficult enough as it is.”

Sasuke listened silently. He was not so certain. 

“And also”, the man continued, “if I may give you some advice about love, as you're still young: if you truly love your friends, and he loves you too, then it's better to tell him the truth.”

Sasuke bit his lip. He'd face it, somehow. He'd even face Naruto's reaction to the new revelations.


	84. Chapter Eighty-One: Deal

The head of the police left the room to ask his assistant whether the victim of the attempted murder had already been found and brought to the police station, and it turned out that Killerbee, Naruto and the two policewomen had been waiting in the assistant's room for quite some time. Sasuke heard them talk to the head of the police through the open door. 

“We have a problem”, the woman said. “He does not have any legal documents proving he's the Raikage's brother. However, he does not have any documents proving he's someone else either.”

“But you are Killerbee, aren't you?” the head of the police asked.

“I am. But you don't go to the embassy of Lightning Country and tell people that I've found refuge in Music Town.” 

“You haven't found refuge in Music Town”, the head of the police's assistant replied. “You may find refuge here when you provide us with some official papers proving your identity. Until then you are just an illegal immigrant.”

“You won't send me back, will you? You can't do it!” 

“We won't”, the woman said who had brought him to the police station. “Whatever your real name is, you've definitely made yourself a name as a musician. But in order to get accepted as a citizen of Music Town, we need to have your identity confirmed.”

The head of the police went back into his office and got the original request of the Raikage, including some pictures of Killerbee, from his shelf. Sasuke, who until now had been listening to the conversation from inside, got up too and followed the policeman to the door, but not into the assistant's room. No one told him to return into the office, so he considered it was okay to watch and listen from the door. He saw the head of the police show the pictures to Killerbee. 

“It seems quite likely to me that this is you”, he said. “Though I guess we'd better have your identity confirmed by the embassy too.”

“You can't tell the people from the embassy. They'll tell my brother, the Raikage, and he'll send for me and make me return to the Hidden Village of the Cloud.”

“He may send for you, but you don't have to follow his request”, the policewoman answered, sounding quite exasperated by now. 

“He'll force me!” 

“He won't. You are protected by the law of Music Town. As soon as your identity has been confirmed you can apply to be recognized as a refugee or accepted as a citizen.”

“Not me! I'm the Raikage's brother.”

The head of the police took a booklet from the rack and passed it to Killerbee. 

“This is the contract between Music Town and the Ninja Countries. On page seven you'll find the paragraph in question: every citizen of the Ninja Countries has the right to move to Music Town to start a musical career. There's no exception for Shinobi, or siblings of the kage. Read yourself!” 

Sasuke watched the scene, still recovering from the emotional uproar of his conversation with the head of the police. Naruto had not joined him at the door but waited on some sofa on the other side of the room. Sasuke wondered what Killerbee had told him. He also felt irritated that people were making such a fuss about Killerbee's identity and getting it confirmed by the embassy of Lightning Country when he, Sasuke, was being charged with attempted murder, but then he realized that his whole defense depended on Killerbee's identity. If it could not be confirmed there was no proof that it was just attempted murder. 

Killerbee turned to the page the head of the police had recommended to him. When he looked up from it he caught Sasuke's looks: He was all serious, neither friendly nor angry, and not at all the fool he had made of himself while discussing whether he was Killerbee or not. Sasuke lowered his eyes, getting aware again that he should never have agreed to capture the man and deliver him to Akatsuki. 

“So now you'll fill in your application to become a citizen of Music Town”, the head of the police continued. “We'll take your poster and the announcement in the magazine as proof that you've started a musical career. We'll need more: for example your contract with the manager of the concert hall, but for the moment it's sufficient to protect you against any request to deliver you to Kumogakure.”

His assistant had an application form ready. Sasuke wondered how things went much more quickly than when he had applied for formal status, but apparently the bureaucracy in Music Town could work very quickly if people thought it necessary. Killerbee filled in the form (with some help from the policepeople around him) and returned it to the assistant. 

“You're safe now”, the head of the police said. “So we can send someone to the embassy, and you don't have to fear anything.”

The task was given to a civilian employee of the embassy. The policepeople left the room as the situation seemed resolved; only the head of the police and his assistant remained, discussing some minor matters not related to Sasuke's abduction of Killerbee while they were waiting for the return of the employee. Sasuke kept standing in the door that connected the two rooms, occasionally looking at Naruto who still avoided him. Killerbee was left in the middle of the room, reading the booklet the head of the police had given him. Occasionally his eyes met Sasuke's and then Sasuke looked down to the floor. Finally the employee arrived with the message that Killerbee's identity had been confirmed by the embassy of Lightning Country. 

“Seems we can now get to the point”, the head of the police said.

He invited Killerbee into his office. Sasuke was allowed to remain standing in the door, and now Naruto joined him, leaning against the other side of the frame, but he still did not look at Sasuke, and he did not speak. 

“This young man over there is accused of attempted murder of you”, the head of the police began. “Actually of murder, but as you are still alive I think we may change this to attempted murder. We hope we can learn more about it from you.”

“Who has accused him of murder?” Killerbee asked back. 

“Your brother, the Raikage”, the head of the police answered. “People saw him fight you.”

“Did these people also give an explanation why they did not come to my aid?” 

“The Raikage does not write about it in his request to deliver the perpetrator to Kumogakure.”

“My brother wants the boy? What for?” 

“To punish him, I presume.”

Again Killerbee looked at Sasuke. Sasuke lowered his eyes. 

“I see”, Killerbee answered and leant back. “Obviously I am alive, so there's no need to avenge me, is there?”

“The Raikage won't avenge you in any case. We won't send the boy to a place where he will be executed. But attempted murder is also a crime. I have already obtained a confession.”

“A confession of attempted murder? Why did you tell them that you tried to murder me?” 

He looked directly at Sasuke. Again Sasuke could not bear his looks, and even less was he able to find an answer. He was relieved from that need, however, by the head of the police.

“You remain silent. I want to hear Killerbee's version.” 

“What did you do to him to gain such a confession?” 

Now he had managed to provoke the head of the police. 

“We didn't torture him, if that's what you mean. I just explained to him that if he did not tell us the truth we'd learn it from you anyway.”

“But he did not attempt to murder me”, Killerbee replied.

Sasuke was relieved – so this part of his story had been confirmed. He'd not be put to trial for attempted murder, but for abducting Killerbee and delivering him to Akatsuki. He hoped that Killerbee would also tell that he had split up before Sasuke carried him away, giving him a chance to explain to the judge that he had known that he was not handing over the real Killerbee. He was aware that this was still an unlikely story.

“We had a deal”, Killerbee continued. “We'd fake a fight that should result in my death, so that I might escape from Kumogakure and come here to start a career as a musician.”

This time the head of the police managed to remain calm. “Tell me more about your deal! For example I'd like to know what he gained through this deal.”

“Nothing. He was just doing me a favour.”

“You are aware that this deal, or favour, put him in a lot of trouble? The Raikage himself is now searching for him.”

“He did not care about it.”

“Not caring about being charged with murder?”

“He was a rogue-nin before. He was in league with Akatsuki when I met him. Faking a fight with me gave him a chance to escape this alliance.”

The head of the police closed the folder that had still been lying on his desk, openly displaying the notes he had taken during Sasuke's interrogation.

“So you fought, but you did not fight for real. There was no intention to harm you.” 

“That's correct.” 

“So we'll inform the Raikage that you are alive and ask him to lift the charge of murder of the young man. It will take some time to inform the administration of Music Town, and probably it won't happen before you've been accepted as a citizen, so we ask you to add a note to the letter we will write to your brother, explaining to him your deal. Will you do this for us? It will mean that you do the young man a favour too, in exchange for his favour.”

Killerbee agreed. Both he and the head of the police rose from their seats: there was nothing to say about a crime that apparently had not happened.

“I hope to welcome you soon as a citizen of Music Town”, the head of the police bid farewell to Killerbee. Then he looked at Sasuke. “You may leave now too. Ask my assistant for a new appointment: I still need to talk to you about your application for a job at the police. And also don't forget what I told you about love.”


	85. Chapter Eighty-Two: The First Fruit

The assistant retained her usual calm, professional manner, looking for some free space in her boss's agenda and asking Sasuke when he himself had time. Sasuke answered without hearing what he was saying and was grateful for the slip of paper with the date and time of his appointment the assistant handed him when they had come to an agreement. He almost forgot saying “good-bye”. 

Both Naruto and Killerbee had waited for him, and together they left the building. 

“I thought I owed you something”, Killerbee said. “Thanks to you I'm here and not in Kumogakure. But now I think that you owe me an invitation to a beer.”

Sasuke still had difficulties understanding what people around him were saying. “Certainly. I'll also invite you to lunch, or to dinner in some posh restaurant.” 

“You don't want to bribe me, do you?” Killerbee replied. “Some beer is enough.”

They went on, looking for an appropriate place. 

“What advice did the man give you concerning love?” Naruto asked. He was in thoughts too.

“That I should tell you the truth.” 

“That was a good piece of advice”, Naruto said, and then he was silent again.

They chose a pub right in the center of town, a fancy historical one that was very expensive and normally only frequented by tourists, but it had a nice backyard with a garden, which was almost empty at the moment. There was a small tree but what was most impressive was the wild wine, climbing up some wooden racks. Sasuke ordered a round of beer. 

“I don't know whether you already know my friend”, he said. “this is Naruto, jinchuuriki of Konoha.”

Naruto felt irritated – this was not the first information he wanted a stranger to know. Also it was not something he wanted Sasuke to tell anyone. He wanted to decide about it himself.

For a second Killerbee looked at him as if he was checking him like an object, then he reassumed his usual friendly, cheerful expression.

“Hi”, he said to Naruto. “I guess you know who I am, after all this fuss. It's a great place here, but they really overdo with the paperwork.”

“Hi”, Naruto said, feeling a bit embarrassed. 

“So that's your new friend”, Killerbee said to Sasuke. “What about the old ones?” 

“They are here in Music Town too. They're doing fine.”

“I've met the Water guy”, Killerbee continued. “He's a great guy, but his music is terribly outdated. I mean, who still cares for Heavy Metal?”

Sasuke still had no taste for music, except that he preferred the kind that was not too noisy. Now he was glad that this excused him from giving any opinion on Suigetsu's or Killerbee's music. 

“He explained things to me: that you had been picked up by Akatsuki, that you didn't have a choice, that none of you had a grudge against me and that you all regretted attacking me.”

“Sasuke, what happened really?” Naruto asked. “Did you really attempt to kill him?” 

Sasuke shook his head.

“He didn't”, Killerbee said. “He explicitly said that he attacked me with the intention of capturing me alive.”

“So you did attack him?” 

Sasuke nodded.

“Why? He had not done anything to harm you, had he?” 

Sasuke shook his head again. This time Killerbee did not answer in his stead. It was better like this, Sasuke decided. It was his job to tell the truth to Naruto, not Killerbee's. 

“I had a deal with Akatsuki to deliver him alive.”

“Yes, I remember. You were in league with them at the time”, Naruto repeated Killerbee's words to the police.

“They picked me up and saved my life after I fought Itachi. The man with the mask, I mean.”

Naruto remembered how he and his team had been too late, delayed by that weird man who could not be touched. 

“We would have picked you up too”, he said, knowing that this was not fair: It was not Sasuke's fault that the man with the mask had been faster. 

“But then I would not have learnt that Danzou is responsible for the murder of my clan.”

They had been stuck at this point more than once in their discussions.

“Anyway, even if the man with the mask saved your life that's no reason to consent to capture an innocent person for him. What did they want him for, by the way? No, you don't have to explain.”

Naruto leant back, looking at Killerbee, understanding why Sasuke had generously given away the information that he was a jinchuuriki.

“You're a jinchuuriki too, aren't you?” 

“I am”, Killerbee answered. 

“He's the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki”, Sasuke explained. “He has truly mastered his bijuu. I thought you should meet him.”

Naruto was not open at the moment for this information. 

“You agreed to Akatsuki to capture a jinchuuriki and deliver him to them so that they could extract the bijuu. How could you do this?” 

Naruto had not touched Sasuke since he had understood that he was accused of murder, respectively of attempted murder. It was very unusual for him, normally he craved for physical contact. Now he moved even further away from him. Sasuke again felt the world crumble under his feet – he could not imagine losing Naruto. He had always taken his friendship, if not his love, for granted. 

Naruto also felt horrible. He had known that Sasuke had gone to live with Orochimaru, had of course also known of Sasuke's attempt to kill him, Naruto, and had been ready to forgive him. He was not able to forgive him now.

“You knew I am a jinchuuriki. You knew that Akatsuki is after me too.”

“I knew.”

“So how could you agree to capture another jinchuuriki?”

Sasuke really felt ashamed of what he had done. He searched for words that would not further enrage Naruto.

“I was desperate then”, he said. “I had just learnt that I and everyone I loved had been considered fair game by the administration of Konoha. I thought that for me nothing mattered any more, except gaining my revenge. I thought the whole world had abandoned me so that it didn't matter if I abandoned the world. I was wrong, however.”

“Still”, Naruto said. “You know I am a jinchuuriki. How could you agree to capture another jinchuuriki?” 

He buried his head in his hands.

Not knowing what else to do Sasuke tentatively touched his shoulders. “I always cared for you”, he said. “I could not have agreed to capture you.”

Naruto shook off his hand. “It's not enough”, he said.

Sasuke leant back, desperate now. “I can go back and ask to be put to trial. The head of the police knows the truth.” 

“What for?” Killerbee asked. “No one would gain from it. You need your friend with you, not in prison, don't you?” he continued, now talking to Naruto. 

Naruto did not answer. 

“Tell him he's still your friend!” 

“How can I?” Naruto asked. “He attempted to capture you so that your bijuu might be extracted. He would have been responsible for your death.”

“But he didn't do it. No one got hurt. I could escape from Kumogakure. I can forgive him, and so can you.”

Naruto looked up. Sasuke looked really distressed. 

“You're a jinchuuriki, and you still have to learn to cooperate with your bijuu, don't you? You'll need a back up for this. Your friend's strong, he can do it.”

“I don't need him”, Naruto said. “I can deal with the kyuubi myself.”

“You can't”, Sasuke said. “Every time we have sex you struggle to control it, and it causes you pain.”

“It's none of your business”, Naruto contradicted.

“It is, as I see you in pain every time after you climax. It is, as I have to back you up in case you can't cope.”

“You don't have to!” Naruto repeated. He felt irritated that Sasuke discussed their love life in front of a stranger. 

Killerbee listened, looking as if all this was beyond his comprehension.

“You're having sex?” he asked.

“It's okay in Music Town”, Sasuke replied, taking Naruto's hand. Naruto felt uncomfortable, but he did not withdraw.

“You should not have sex as a jinchuuriki”, Killerbee told him. “Didn't anyone tell you this?” 

“No. Why?” 

“It's too risky.”

It made sense, Naruto thought, with the kyuubi threatening to take over whenever he had an orgasm. 

“You mean they condemned Naruto to a life without sex when he was still an infant?” Sasuke said. 

“It's not easy of course – it wasn't easy for me either – but there's no other way. The village needs to be protected: someone has to be the jinchuuriki. He has to dedicate his life to the village, and the village always has to be his greatest love. It's his fate. Besides, there's other things than sex that make life worthwhile. Music, for example.”

Sasuke nodded, but he was not convinced.

“What about the woman we met at your place?” Naruto asked.

“I've explained it to her. She's content that we're not having sex, just kissing, and also I find other ways to give her satisfaction. She enjoys it. She says I'm different from all the other men she's ever been with. They all only wanted sex and only cared about themselves.”

Sasuke pondered his words. “A woman may be content with this, but I'm a man, and I'm not. I want Naruto to be able to have sex without worrying about the kyuubi.”

He drew Naruto closer to himself and laid his arm around his shoulders. Naruto still felt uncomfortable, but he did not shake off the arm. Sasuke straightened. 

“You've been very generous”, he told Killerbee, “and gave me more than I deserved when you lied for me at the police. I would not dare to ask for another favour from you if it were for myself, but as it is for my friend I will ask you: Please teach him to tame the kyuubi and control it, just as you control the hachibi.”

Killerbee hesitated. “I expected this request”, he said. “It's just that every village has its own methods of controlling its bijuu, and we don't normally share them. Top level secret, you know. We don't want Kumogakure to be attacked by the kyuubi.”

“I would not do this”, Naruto replied. “Sasuke may attack other people unprovokedly, but I don't.” 

“And what will you do if your country orders you to attack us?” 

“Konoha won't attack Kumo. We don't attack other countries.”

“Ah,really?” 

Sasuke considered explaining to Naruto that the Second Ninja World War had actually started with an attack from Konoha against Amegakure which at the time was negotiating an alliance with Kumogakure. He decided to back up Naruto instead: 

“Danzou may do such a thing”, he said. “This is why we are in Music Town. When we return to Konoha it will be to drive him out of office and to install Naruto as Hokage. As Hokage he won't attack any other countries.”

Killerbee kept looking at Naruto. “So that's your plan.”

“Yes.”

“You know, things aren't always that easy. What if someone from Konoha attacks Kumogakure, as your friend did, and you have to fight off a counter attack?” 

“I still won't use the kyuubi. I'll do everything to achieve true peace.”

Again Killerbee checked him, scrutinizing him. “I'll trust you. I've wondered all the time where' I've seen you before, but now I know. I've seen your picture all over the town.” From his pocket he took a copy of the Gutsy Ninja. “If you are serious about your dream of peace, and if you really only want to learn to control the kyuubi in order to have sex with your boyfriend I will teach you. Just promise that you will never use the kyuubi against Kumogakure.”

“I will, if you promise me that you won't use the Hachibi against Konoha”, Naruto answered. 

“That's fair”, Killerbee replied. 

They both got up and embraced. Sasuke watched them, then he got up and embraced Killerbee too. 

“Thank you for everything”, he said. 

“Don't talk about it again”, Killerbee answered. “You've paid for the beer, haven't you?” 

Actually Sasuke hadn't. He called the waiter and did so. 

“Now he has paid, so now you can forgive him too”, Killerbee told Naruto. “You can't feed a grudge if you want to learn to control the kyuubi. That's what a bijuu thrives on. Besides, you really need him as your back-up. Everyone needs a back-up when he learns to control a bijuu.” 

Naruto still had doubts, but he obeyed and embraced Sasuke. Sasuke rested his head on Naruto's shoulder, and Naruto felt how desperately he had longed for his forgiveness. He could not help feeling pity for him, and his heart opened again to Sasuke, even though he did not know whether this was right. 

Sasuke felt extremely drunk, much more than was to be expected after a single glass of beer. He was aware that   
Killerbee had completely forgiven him, and the head of the police too, but that Naruto had not. He had no idea how to change this.


	86. Chapter Eighty-Three: Beneath the Surface

Naruto soon stopped talking, or at least thinking, about Sasuke's attack against Killerbee, but some distance between them remained. What worried him, however, were Killerbee's words about not being supposed to have sex as a jinchuuriki. When he and Sasuke had lunch again with Juugo's fostermothers he left it to Sasuke to play with the older boys and joined the two women in the kitchen. The smallest kid was in the kitchen too, always standing where his mothers intended to go.

“Sasuke and I have met the only other living jinchuuriki in Music Town”, Naruto said. 

“There's another one?”

“Yes, he's from Kumo.”

“And you met him here in Music Town?”

“He's a musician, so he decided to live here.” 

“Oh”, the women said, not knowing what to make of the information and why Naruto was telling them this. 

“He told me that as a jinchuuriki you should not have sex.”

“Why?” 

“It's too risky. The kyuubi might get out of control.”

The two women swallowed. They have children, Naruto realized. They don't want them to get killed in an attack of the kyuubi.

“But you and Sasuke have sex, don't you?” one of the women finally said.

“We do.”

“So apparently you are able to keep the kyuubi in check.”

“Well. It's difficult. It always takes me a minute or two to get it back under control.”

“But you manage. So why do you fear that this might change?” 

Because there's always the possibility that I have a deeper, fuller orgasm, Naruto thought, and that I accidentally open the bars of the kyuubi's cage. He did not say it: he did not want to discuss details of his sexuality with these two women.

“I can understand that Naruto suffers from it”, the second woman said to her partner. “You want to let go during sex, don't you?” 

“Well, yes”, Naruto answered. He was not so certain – he did not know anything but having to be careful, and he could not imagine what sex might be like if the dropped his guard completely.

“What does Sasuke say?” the woman continued. “Does he know about the problem?” 

“Yes. He thinks he can deal with it. He tells me not to worry.”

“And what do you think? Can he deal?” 

Naruto thought about it. He remembered how Sasuke had turned up in his mind when they had met in Orochimaru's lair. “I guess he can, when things go really badly. But I'd prefer him not to have to.”

“That's understandable. You'll have to keep talking about the problem, then you'll find a solution. You love each other, don't you?” 

“We do”, Naruto answered hesitatingly. 

“Every couple has problems. Be open with each other, then you'll manage. Just don't expect each other, or your love, to be perfect.” 

Naruto had no idea what to answer, but he did not feel comforted. “It's not just about having sex”, he said. “It's also that they made sure that I'll never have a family of my own.”

“But you already proved them wrong, didn't you?” one of the women said. “You are having sex, and there's no reason why you should not have a family either. Being gay makes it difficult of course, but there's ways.”

Naruto shook his head. “They made sure that I would not be able to raise kids. They let me grow up in one of Konoha's orphanages instead of finding me some fosterparents, which would probably have been possible too. Maybe they even took me away from my mother when she was still alive, just to make sure that I had no idea about small children, having no memory of my own parents caring for me when I was very small.”

“It's normal that you don't have any memories of how your parents played with you when you were very small. And it's normal that you don't know much about little children when you are seventeen. It's possible to learn it, however. You can begin now!”

The woman picked up her little son and placed him in Naruto's arms. “Go into the garden and play with him! Then you are out out of the way and we can do our cooking.” 

Naruto went outside, carrying the little lad. He was not content at all with the women's efforts to comfort him, but he did his best not to let the child feel it. He played football with him, which was difficult as the boy kept picking up the ball, wanting to keep it for himself, and repeatedly Naruto had to persuade him to put it down again so that they could continue playing. (Naruto understood that it was no use to try to explain that in football you weren't supposed to touch the ball with your hands at all.) 

After some time Naruto noticed that Sasuke was watching him. He was silent and smiled, content just to watch, but Naruto got nervous, feeling that Sasuke was judging him, and the little boy sensed it too and got inquiet, so that Sasuke had to join the game. It did not last long, however: lunch was ready soon.

During lunch Naruto got troubled again. Seeing the kids interact, the older ones helping their younger siblings and friends (there were always some non-related children at the table) made him realize what he had missed in the first years of his life. 

Sasuke had again placed the smallest child on his lap, helping him eat. After lunch, when the older children had left to play in the garden, he began to read a picture book to him, explaining to him the names of farm animals, while the two women served him coffee and passed the sugar to him, as he was not able to do anything by himself. Naruto was envious: both because Sasuke was able to care for the kid as if he had never done anything else, and because Sasuke in his turn was now cared for by the mothers.

“I never had a chance to learn”, he said. “People didn't want me to learn. People did not want me to raise a family. They wanted me to know nothing but the village.”

Sasuke, who had no idea about the conversation in the kitchen looked irritated. The two mothers were irritated and a bit annoyed too. 

“You will be able to raise a family when you're old enough”, they said.

Naruto was not convinced: “The women at the agency for surrogate mothers warned me: I'll inevitably mess up if I try to raise kids and give them a better childhood than I had myself.” 

Now the two women were silent for a few seconds, as they had to overcome their surprise. “You went to an agency for surrogate mothers?” 

“It was Sasuke's idea”, Naruto said, realizing that they found this quite ridiculous. Sasuke realized it too, and he was not happy at all that Naruto had told the two women about their adventure. 

“I thought we might do something meaningful while Naruto is trying to come up with a plan to defeat Danzou”, he said, managing to sound as aloof and arrogant as in his worst moments. 

The little boy looked up at him, not knowing what to make of the change in his voice. The boy's mothers broke into laughter. 

“What are you going to do with the child once you are ready to return to Konoha?” they asked when they were able to. “There's no one you can return it to once you no longer need a child to fill your time.”

“He'll be grown up by the time when Naruto has found a plan”, Sasuke replied coolly. “He'll support us.”

“Don't be so sure! Children normally have political positions that are just the opposite of their parents!” 

They were still laughing, and they had a hard time to settle down. 

“Seriously: you better grow up yourselves before you try to raise a child”, they said. “If you're really so keen on looking after children you can come and visit more often and look after ours.”

“It's not the same”, Sasuke replied. “I want some biological children of my own.”

He still sounded cool and arrogant, and Naruto wondered how he managed, even though he must know that he had just made a fool of himself. 

“What about you?” the women asked Naruto.

“I'd rather adopt a child.” Contradicting Sasuke helped him get out of his bad mood. 

“You may adopt Sasuke's kids”, the women suggested.

“No, definitely not.”

The women looked as if he had said something incredibly stupid. He understood that they must have adopted each other's kids as it was not possible that a child had two biological mothers.

“It would not be fair”, he said. “Sasuke having biological children and me just adopting them. I want to adopt a child who's a few years old and who's had some rough times. I want to give him hope for a better life.”

“That's an admirable plan”, the women said. “But these kids are often difficult. Even those who really want to be adopted often take a long time until they trust you. They show you just some mask, fearing you will reject them as soon as you you know their true self, and when the mask breaks, which will inevitably happen one day, they will get aggressive or withdraw. You need a lot of patience with them, and the skill to look beneath the surface of their awkward or even aggressive behaviour.”

“But we can do this”, Naruto said. “We are ninja. We are trained to look beneath the surface.”

The women's expression was very odd.

“But the woman at the agency would not believe me”, Naruto continued. “She warned me against adopting a child in order to make up for not having had a happy childhood. I've never experienced any parents' love, and so I cannot pass on that experience to a child. Sasuke said it himself: you've never had anyone, you cannot understand it.”

Sasuke was shocked – he had not thought that Naruto would bring up this. He did not like being reminded of what he now considered one of the worst moments of his life. “That was years ago”, he said. “I already told you: I was angry and out of my mind. I said whatever came to my mind to hurt you. I didn't mean it. I certainly don't think so now.”

“There's no reason why you should not be able to love a child”, the women said. “It's about you and the child, not about what you experienced with your parents. It's got nothing to do with passing anything on. You love the child, that's enough. You will have to consider, however, whether you are really ready to tackle the task of taking in a child with trust issues and a bunch of behavioural problems.”

Naruto did not know what to say except what he had already said before, so he remained silent.

“But you don't have to decide this now”, the other woman continued. “Wait until you're old enough to care for a child. And even then, you can first have a child of your own and later, when you've gained confidence in your fathering skills, you can adopt one. That's what we did, after all.”

Naruto did not feel convinced, nor comforted, even though he knew that the women meant well.

Sasuke had listened to the conversation. He agreed to the two women that Naruto would make a good father, and contrary to them he was also convinced that Naruto would also be a good father to some child with a lot of issues. He found Naruto's self-doubts rather irrational, but he sensed that Naruto was deeply troubled. He laid his arm around him. 

“We'll manage”, he said. “We'll find a child to adopt, one who's had some rough times. We'll find one without the approval of that stupid woman at the agency: if not here, then in Konoha. There's enough of them.”


	87. Chapter Eighty-Four: A Story for Children

It was still Sasuke, not Naruto, who read the newspapers of Music Town on a regular basis, and so it was him, not Naruto, who found and collected the reviews of the Gutsy Ninja as they appeared in the various papers. They were all rather critical, condemning the book as naive and praising the editors for persuading Jiraiya to change from preachy adventure stories to erotic romances that did not touch any deep, philosophical questions but were just about pairing the right boy with the right girl. Sasuke hesitated to give the reviews to Naruto as he knew how much he would be hurt by them, and the problem was worsened by the fact that he had no idea how to comfort Naruto (and he knew that Naruto would be in need of comfort) as he silently agreed to the critics: Jiraiya's ideas about peace had been naive, and his solutions of the story's conflict unsatisfactory, a fact that was hardly patched up by the love scene at the end of the book. 

When he had cut out the fourth review from the last remaining serious newspaper and put it into a folder with the other three he decided that he could no longer keep the reviews from Naruto: He had a right to them, and if he discovered them by himself, finding out that Sasuke had collected and hidden them, he'd direct his disappointment not against the critics but against him, Sasuke. (Sasuke also remembered the advice the head of the police had given him: tell him the truth.) So one morning, after some love-making and a late breakfast, Sasuke got the reviews from the shelf and presented them to Naruto. 

“I've collected them for you”, he said. “They're complete now: Reviews of the Gutsy Ninja from all the major newspapers of Music Town. I thought you might be interested in them. They are not very favorable, however. Do you still want to read them?” 

Naruto looked at him for some seconds before he answered. “You don't need to protect me.”

Sasuke passed him the reviews and sat down next to him, ready to comfort him when Naruto had finished reading. (Nonregarding Naruto's words he was still convinced that Naruto would be in need of some comfort.) Together they began to read the first review.

Last year the fans of erotic romance had to mourn the death of Jiraiya, one of the genre's most prominent authors. His passing means the end of Icha-Icha, a series that has accompanied them for more than ten years now and that has become one of the finest example of romance, exploring the complications of relationships between the two sexes in a way that was both humorous and clear-sighted, yet always respectful, opening our eyes to the follies of both men and women, that is our own, yet never despising or condemning them. 

Due to Jiraiya's death we won't be able to read another sequel of Icha-Icha, but to do the fans a favour, the publishing house together with Jiraiya's heir, Uzumaki Naruto, have decided to publish a new edition of Jiraiya's first novel, the Gutsy Ninja. It's not an early version of Icha-Icha, however, not even set in its universe, but an adventure story about a young ninja who fights for the woman he loves and for her country against some bad guys, and in the end he and his companions prevail, and he is allowed to marry the woman he loves. The plot is quite clichéd, and one would consider it a book for children if it were not for a quite explicite love scene at the end of the book, announcing love and fulfilment for the hero. 

It's not the love scene, however, that's makes the book stand out from the bulk of adventure stories for preteen boys that are published every year. What would make me consider buying the book for my nephew is mainly the protagonist himself, who is quite different from the standard hero we get in that kind of adventure stories. First, he never fights for himself, or his own country, but always only for the woman he loves, and even this love seems completely selfless and also curiously sexless, and it's only after she insists on having her in her bed that he is ready to show off his talents as a lover, which are all the more remarkable when one considers that he has been out of practice for several years. 

Also, the hero is not the typical young adventurer, confident or even overconfident of his fighting prowess, eager to meet danger and test himself against some true villains. He has survived the destruction of his home country and seen the death of a lot of friends and relatives, and often he's brought down by the burden of these losses. Still he refuses to give up: instead he forces himself to see the death of his loved ones as an incentive to work for true, lasting peace. 

Children will be confronted with a hero for whom there are more important things than coming out first and emerging as victor from every fight he enters. They will have to cope with a sense of loss and a slight melancholia that permeates the whole book, and at least some of them will also have to overcome their frustration in not being allowed to smite their enemies. Children can learn a lot from the book, particularly those who usually avoid the more serious, more realistic books and only read ninja adventure stories. 

Grown-ups, however, at whom the story is ultimately aimed, will end up with a feeling of dissatisfaction. The peace offered at the end of the story seems more an outcry for peace than a vision Jiraiya actually believed in. His suggestions what peace might look like and how it can be achieved are hardly convincing: you forgive your enemies, they see the error of their ways and regret that they ever attacked you (in that order. The hero first forgives, and then his enemies repent.) There's no reason given why people who were first depicted as ruthless and evil, attacking a country just because they think its young princess too weak to defend it and committing countless atrocities against civilians during the war suddenly turn into good people, ready to recognize the protagonist's moral superiority. My first thought when I read this was that they must be faking this change of mind, hoping to be spared from punishment and then planning the next war when they have recovered from their defeat. 

People who are ultimately evil normally don't suddenly change their ways and begin to believe in any kind of morality beyond the one that claims that might makes right. To make his vision of peace more realistic, Jiraiya would have needed to create some more realistic villains who are not the embodiment of evil. On the other hand, some thoroughly evil villains were needed to justify the hero's fighting activities, which would otherwise contradict his alleged desire for peace. Jiraiya had to make clear that the hero is forced to fight by evil people who are inaccessible to negotiations or compromises or even invocations of reason and rational self-interest. Every pain the hero inflicts on them, every breach of the rules of fair fighting, is unavoidable and the villains have not deserved better. (It helps that the bad guys are just a bunch of men without any associated women and children.) 

However even though Jiraiya tries to paint his bad guys as thoroughly evil he still can't avoid giving them some motives and making their actions plausible. We get glimpses into their sense of disenfranchisement which in their eyes give them the right to attack a small country led by a young woman who somehow is on the side of those who oppressed them. We learn why they aren't connected to any women or children, and occasionally we are asked to feel pity for them. It may be asked whether except in these small moments we are not just presented the perspective of the Gutsy Ninja and the woman he loves, and whether only from their perspective the villains all evil, and the only ones responsible for the conflict.

Maybe if we saw the conflict more from the bad guys' perspective we would learn more about the reasons why they are fighting, and they'd become better understandable to us, and maybe the atrocities committed by the good guys would appear less inevitable and well-deserved. The story's hero would appear less perfect and ideal, meaning that grown-up people would find him more accessible, while children would have more difficulties to accept him as a role model.

Most of all, however, the peace achieved in the end of the story would be more believable if the enemies had not been presented as purely evil, but as ordinary guys who have reasons to attack the country which seem perfectly valid from their own point of view. With ordinary people it gets plausible that they're able to understand where they crossed a line in their fight for justice, so that their repentance becomes credible and their acceptance of forgiveness more than a trick to avoid punishment. From such a perspective, however, the hero's lover would not just have been an innocent woman and helpless victim, and he himself not perfectly wise and selfless. He would not have been able to convert his enemies to see the world from his own point of view, but would have had to overthink his own attitudes too. 

Maybe Jiraiya's inexperience as an author will excuse him: His hero is obviously an idealized version of himself, meaning that he could not bring himself to add any flaws to his character, or make him commit some errors of judgement or make some tragic mistakes resulting in the death of someone who should not have died. Few people die at all, another indication that the book belongs to the children's sections of book stores, if it were not for the sex scene at the end. The publishing house and Jiraiya's heir should consider cutting the scene, ensuring the book's lasting success among twelve-year-olds, to whom it may still present an emotional and intellectual challenge. 

We have to be grateful, however, that the original version included the love scene, as it made clear where Jiraiya's true talents lay. Icha-Icha shows everything the Gutsy Ninja lacks: humour, flawed heroes, complex relationships between men and women. Jiraiya will remain in our hearts as an author who has raised the genre of erotic romance above the level or mere entertainment. His most devoted fans will of course desire to have the Gutsy Ninja on their bookshelf, together with every line ever written by their favorite author – for the rest of us there remains the consolation that there's still Icha-Icha, waiting for us in bookstores, libraries and our own shelves to be read and reread again and again. 

After reading the review Naruto was silent for a few minutes. Sasuke interpreted this as a sign of sadness and laid his arm around him. 

“That's these scholars here with all their complicated theories”, he said. “They can't understand a man as Jiraiya who simply gave us a vision of peace, a dream that one day there will be sustainable peace and people will stop fighting. He compares Jiraiy's visions to his own theories and thinks they are naive and belong to the children's section. He does not understand that for a ninja as Jiraiya it's a major step to dream of peace at all, and to suggest this to his fellow ninja who's never experienced anything but fighting.” 

Naruto took a while before he answered. He seemed lost in thoughts, and against Sasuke's expectations he did not seek the support of his shoulder. 

“He did not say that Jiraiya's dream of peace is naive”, he said. “He just thought that Jiraiya's ideas how to achieve peace don't work.”

“He thinks that Jiraiya's idea of conflict is naive”, Sasuke said. 

“We can seek him out and talk to him”, Naruto continued. “He lives in Music Town, probably.”


	88. Chapter Eighty-Five: Fanmail

Naruto also asked his friends in Music Town what they thought of the Gutsy Ninja, but like the critics in the newspapers they were rather reserved. “I don't read straight porn” was the most common reply Naruto got from his gay friends, and urged to say something about Jiraiya's dream of peace they simply answered: “Well, everyone loves peace, don't they?” 

With Juugo's fostermothers it was the same. One of them had actually begun to read the book but had stopped after one third of it because another book had caught her attention. The other had only read the first pages.

“I am not really fond of adventure stories”, she said.

However both of them praised Naruto for publishing a book that their older sons read. One of them had never before finished a book, and now he read the Gutsy Ninja over and over again, being a greater fan than his brother who was normally a more avid reader. “He absolutely loves it.”

“I've read that people here consider the Gutsy Ninja a book for children”, Naruto said. “It's different for us, of course. We are ninja, and we really go on missions. Jiraiya wrote the book for grown-ups.”

“Does it matter? If children like the book, why should they not read it?” 

Naruto had no issues with children reading the Gutsy Ninja: what worried him was that grown-ups did not take Jiraiya's dream of peace seriously. 

“The book contains a rather realistic sex scene”, he said. “I don't think it's suitable reading matter for children.” 

The woman who had read the first third of the book went upstairs to fetch it from her sons' bedroom. She gave it to Naruto to let him find the sex scene, who found it quickly. He passed the book back to the woman so that she could read it, and while he watched her he could feel her embarrassment.

“I would not call that realistic”, she said and gave the book to her partner, whose reaction was a bit more relaxed: she began to giggle. “It's not realistic”, she said. “It's hilarious. But I don't think our boys are interested in that yet. They'll probably skip the scene and read the book for the adventure story.”

Later in the afternoon Naruto learnt that the women were mistaken on at least one of their sons' attitude towards sex scenes. When the boys got home from playing outside with their friends the one who had become the more devoted fan of the book immediately went upstairs to his room, and after a few minutes he came back downstairs again. “Where's my book?” he asked. 

His mother returned it to him. 

“Have you read the book?” he asked. “It's my book, you don't read it!” 

His mother pointed out to him that Naruto had actually given the book to her and her partner. 

“But now it's mine. You are not allowed to read it.” 

Both women shrugged. Naruto wondered about their behaviour, but not for long, as the boy asked him to go upstairs with him. 

“Have you read the book too?” the boy asked when they were in his room.

“Certainly”, Naruto answered. 

“All of it? This too?” 

The boy opened the book at the sex scene – it practically opened there by itself. “Here: his cock exploded in her mouth.”

Naruto felt embarrassed. He had no intention of explaining to the boy how it really felt like when Sasuke gave him a blow-job. People should be more careful about giving adult literature to children, he decided.

“I've read the scene, but this is not what's really important about the Gutsy Ninja”, he said. “What's really important is how he forgives his enemies and establishes lasting peace. Have you read his speech to his people?”

“I skipped it. The fights are cooler.”

And the sex scene is coolest, Naruto thought while he went downstairs to join the grown-ups. That's how people here react to the Gutsy Ninja. 

The children from his and Sasuke's taijutsu class also read the Gutsy Ninja. By now Naruto had accepted that Sasuke was better at explaining the different techniques, so he confined himself to doing the meditation sessions (Sasuke was really bad at those) and helping the kids while they practised. They all liked him, but sometimes they made fun of him. Now a couple of them had also read the Gutsy Ninja, and at least these kids, who were only six or seven, did not try to discuss the sex scene with him. 

“The Gutsy Ninja is cool”, was their most frequent comment.

The parents praised the Gutsy for teaching their children to read – for most of them it had been their first chapter book, and they at last mentioned that it was about peace: “You see, it's possible to teach kids that peace is desirable without indoctrinating them with any religious messages”, they said, making Naruto wonder: Did they not see that the Gutsy Ninja breathed the spirit of the Rikudou Sennin?

He also considered it his duty to warn the parents that the book contained a quite explicit sex scene, however he failed to take care not to do this while the kids were listening. 

“It wasn't a big deal”, one of the little boys said. “I know about sex. I'm not in kindergarten.”

Naruto also tried to discuss the Gutsy Ninja with his friends from the riverside. They loved to discuss politics, so they must be interested in Jiraiya's dream of peace, he thought. To his shock, when they heard that he was Jiraiya's heir, they suggested to him to withdraw the whole series of Icha-Icha.

“Why?” Naruto asked.

“The series is ultraconservative rubbish, written to hold women captive in some beautiful dream of love, married to a man who's wealthy and handsome and ready to fulfill all their wishes. They waste their time reading and dreaming instead of thinking how they can actually change their lives.”

“That's not true”, Naruto answered. “The heroes are far from perfect. The handsome, wealthy guys are the villains.”

“You actually read that rubbish?” 

“I had to. Jiraiya made me proofread the books. In Icha-Icha the ordinary guys always prevail and it's them who marry the girl in the end.”

For some seconds the young people were silent. 

“Still it's problematic that falling in love is presented as the solution of all your problems”, one of the young women finally said. 

“There's nothing wrong with being in love, is there?” Naruto replied, taking Sasuke's hands and leaning against him. Sasuke felt relieved – he had felt worried when Naruto had talked about the handsome wealthy guys being the villains. But Naruto was handsome and wealthy now himself, wasn't he?

“Also, I actually don't care much about Icha-Icha”, Naruto continued. “The book I care about is the Gutsy Ninja, which is not about love, but about forgiving your enemy and coming to an understanding with him and thus implementing a lasting peace.”

He was disappointed again by the young people's reaction. 

“You don't forgive an oppressor”, they said. “Oppressors always speak in favour of forgivance and also against violence, but they always only mean other people's violence. They like peace because peace means that they stay in power. They ask you to follow the rules and work for peaceful change, but they have set up the rules in a way that prevents any peaceful change. You should know this yourself: You won't get rid of Danzou by following the rules.”

Naruto did not have an answer to this. He was very silent and thoughtful when they went home. 

Luckily at home a letter was waiting for him. The patron's daughter told them that it had been sent by the publishing-house, but obviously it was from one of the smaller ninja countries, one Naruto had never heard of. Sasuke guessed that it was from a reader of the Gutsy Ninja, and he opened it and read it in order to warn and comfort Naruto if necessary. It was not necessary: the letter contained nothing but praise: 

Dear Uzumaki Naruto!

I have been a fan of Icha-Icha for a long time, and you can't imagine my pain at the news of Jiraiya's death, meaning that the last trilogy of the series will remain uncompleted forever. Is there a chance that Jiraiya has left some drafts or manuscripts to you that might give a hint whom the heroine will choose? Is there any possibility that these manuscripts will be published?

I understand of course that publishing Jiraiya's manuscripts will be a huge project that involves a lot of work, so it made sense that you first released a new edition of the Gutsy Ninja, as this already existed as a book and only needed a new preface. I love you so much for the preface, I can't tell you. I'm so glad everybody will know now that Jiraiya was not just an author of erotic romances but also had some serious ideas about politics. I love him so much for his dream of peace. It's wonderful to know that he hoped that one day peace will be possible.

Sasuke watched Naruto's face brighten as he read the letter as if it was illuminated from inside. He laid his arm around him: “You see: people from the ninja countries appreciate Jiraiya's dream.”

Indeed they did: more letters followed the first one, and they came from all the ninja countries, including the ninja villages themselves, and these were the letters Naruto cherished most.

“Even ninja who are trained to be fighters still hope that one day there will be peace.”

“Why shouldn't they?” Sasuke asked back. “After all, it's them who have to do the actual killing and dying. You're a ninja too, and you also long for peace.”

He thought of Itachi, who had dreamt of peace and who had been betrayed. He realized that he himself did not care too much about peace, mostly because that betrayal of Itachi. The people from the riverside were probably correct: You did not get rid of someone as Danzou just by being nice and following the rules. 

He looked again at Naruto and knew that for all his happiness about the fanmail he received there was still one thing he missed: a letter from Konoha. 

“They have difficulties to get mail out of the village”, Sasuke said to comfort him, but he knew that this was not enough. Naruto waited and hoped, but no letter arrived. There was, however, a letter from Konan, and this was almost as good as a letter from Konoha.

Dear Naruto, 

the people of Amegakure want to thank you for releasing a new edition of the Gutsy Ninja. It makes us remember fondly Nagato, on whom Jiraiya based his hero, and me, personally, the book also reminds of our time with Jiraiya, which was the second happiest in my life. We all remember now Nagato's and also Yahiko's strife for peace and how they were ready to give their life for their dream. The book is extremely popular here, and people read it to their children to teach them what is most important in life. Amegakure has never been a powerful country, rather a prey to the big countries than able to prey on other countries itself, but we will now use whatever power and influence we have to further peace in the ninja countries. The Gutsy Ninja will remain our role model for that.

Konan.

Naruto beamed after reading the letter, and Sasuke did not say anything, he just leant against him.


	89. Chapter Eighty-Six: Respect

Sasuke cared for Naruto and therefore he was happy about the growing influx of letters, and unhappy that there were no news from Konoha. Most of the time, however, his mind was busy with another matter: His appointment with the head of the police to make arrangements for his application at the training center. When it approached he asked Naruto to join him, and this time he told him where he intended to go, and also he told him explicitly that it was important to him that Naruto went with him. Naruto complied: by now he had learnt that it was better to accompany Sasuke on his adventures.

They were welcomed again by the head of the police's assistant, and this time they did not have to wait but were allowed to enter his office immediately. There was a woman sitting next to the head of the police,and apparently they had been talking and waiting for Sasuke for a while already.

“She's in charge of the assessment center”, the head of the police introduced her. “She'll explain to you the application process.”

“I've already heard of you”, the woman said. “You're a young ninja and want to work for us, so you're probably a good fighter, but lack in other areas.”

“I'm an excellent fighter”, Sasuke replied, “and I'm not deficient in other areas.”

The woman leant back and smiled, showing clearly that she did not believe him. Sasuke was annoyed, but then he got a grip on himself and asked the question he had intended to ask for several days now: 

“But I'm not sure whether I actually want to apply. First I need to know why you let me go.”

“What do you mean?” the head of the police asked.

The woman from the assessment center looked curious too.

“You let me go even though I was charged with attempted murder”, Sasuke answered. 

“What does he mean?” the woman asked. 

“It turned out to be a mistake”, the head of the police replied. “We found the alleged victim, and he told us that the attempt to kill him was a fake, set up in order to deceive the Raikage and allow him to flee to Music Town.”

“You know that this is not true”, Sasuke said.

“There aren't any witnesses to prove it. We won't ask the Raikage to send us the people who watched the fight so that they can act as eye witnesses.”

“You have my confession.”

“You can always withdraw it. Say I tricked you into confessing, or whatever.”

“And if I don't?”

“What kind of confession is that?” the woman asked. 

“I attacked the brother of the Raikage with the intention of delivering him to Akatsuki”, Sasuke answered. “In the end I spared him, but I attacked him nonetheless.” 

“That's pretty heavy stuff”, the woman said.

“You don't want to go to prison, do you?” the head of the police asked, quite annoyed by now. 

“May I learn more about it?” the woman asked. “I mean, I need to know who you want us to accept as a policeman in training.”

The head of the police got up and took the folder with the notes from the interrogation and passed it to the woman. Sasuke wished he knew what exactly the man had written.

“I want justice”, he said. “I explained it already. I don't want things under the carpet.”

“And what about me?” Naruto asked. “What shall I do without you?” 

He felt annoyed: again Sasuke had taken a decision that concerned both of them.

“I've been told that you will be allowed to visit me on Sunday afternoons”, Sasuke said. “Will you do that for me?” 

Suddenly he sounded all fragile and vulnerable again: Against his will, Naruto felt moved, and when Sasuke reached out for him he drew him into an embrace – a very careful, tender embrace, not tight as on other days. He felt a bit comforted by Sasuke's words, knowing that Sasuke still cared for his company and did not want to lose him, even though apparently he really wanted to go to prison. Naruto felt all empty thinking of it – he had no idea how he might live in Music Town without Sasuke. He liked the place, even though he was not fascinated by it as Sasuke was and even though he cared more about Konoha than Sasuke did, and he also cared for their new friends, but when he imagined living in Music Town without Sasuke, town and friends lost their meaning and became all stale. He wondered whether visiting Sasuke on Sunday afternoons would make up for the staleness. 

Sasuke's fascination, his curiosity and his adventures made Music Town interesting to Naruto – they made life interesting and worthwhile. 

Very tenderly Sasuke rested his check against Naruto's. 

“I want you to respect me”, he said.

It was in fact his main motivation for asking the head of the police to be treated correctly, without any special allowances. He felt Naruto's reserve since the revelations on his fight against Killerbee, even though Naruto tried to hide it. He had lost the openness and vulnerability that had been so characteristic for him, his trust that gave him a beauty that was far beyond the beauty of regular features and a well-muscled body. Sasuke longed to see this beauty again, to be close to Naruto as he had been before. Even their love-making had dropped in quality.

Naruto caressed his back. “Just stop attacking other people”, he said. In his view there was no connection between going to prison and earning his, Naruto's, respect. He just wished that Sasuke had never had an agreement with Akatsuki, or that he had never left Konoha.

The head of the police and the woman from the training center were watching them. With time they grew restless.

“There's still far too little evidence to convict you of anything”, the head of the police said, inducing the boys to dissolve their embrace. “Without Killerbee's testimony we can't do anything. So now you better focus on your future, which hopefully won't include any attacks on innocent people, just as your friend said. So now, let us explain the application process to you.”

“I am not sure whether this is a wise decision”, the policewoman said. “You have quite a problematic past, and as a policeman you need a certain stability.”

“He seems stable enough”, the head of the police said. “He has a job, he's in a committed relationship, and he'll stabilize even further with the prospect of a meaningful career.”

The woman did not loon convinced. “Does he have any grown-ups to look after him?” 

“I look after him”, Naruto answered. 

“Any grown-ups, I mean.” 

“We are grown-ups”, Naruto said. “I know, teenagers in your town don't count as grown-ups and they don't behave as such, but we are ninja, and we have been considered grown-ups for years. We've learnt to look after ourselves.”

The woman's expression told him that this had not been a good answer.

“I will have to discuss this with my colleagues”, she said. “Anyway, as the deadline is rather soon, here's what's the entry exam is about...”

When the woman left the head of the police had negotiated with her an agreement that Sasuke would not be tested for foreign languages, as he had never had a chance to learn any, and that the results for intelligence and logical thinking would count twice compared to those for general knowledge. Also Sasuke had been given a thick book containing the kind of questions that were asked in the entry exam so that he could practise. He wondered why in order to be a policeman you needed to learn the kind of knowledge that could be learnt from books. 

The head of the police talked to the woman for some minutes in the assistant's office, then he returned to the boys. He wondered: They had expected to be told to leave before the woman, but apparently the head of the police wanted to have some words with them on their own. When he returned to his office he did not sit down but walked around, forcing the boys to turn around so that they could see him. When he finally began to speak he kept standing. 

“What are you thinking?” he said. “With Killerbee's testimony that there had been a deal between the two of you we might have kept it secret and everything would have been fine.”

“But I need to know,” Sasuke replied. “Why do you keep things secret? Why do you protect me from justice?” 

The head of the police was still too angry to answer. 

“I need Naruto to respect me”, Sasuke continued. “And I need to respect myself.” 

“Then do what he told you: Stop attacking people.”

“I haven't attacked anyone in Music Town”, Sasuke protested, feeling offended. 

“But you hurt people, even if you don't kill them. You act without thinking about anything but some abstract principle of justice you've suddenly discovered for yourself. You might at least have waited with your question until we were on our own. Now my colleague has learnt about it all and will discuss your case with her colleagues at the training center. I've barely managed to persuade her to confine discussions to a small circle, and she in her turn has demanded that I tell the state attorney about you, so that it won't be a private deal between you and me. You really got me into trouble, and Killerbee too, for giving false testimony, and your friend won't be happy either when in the end you have to go to prison. Is that how you treat people who care for you?” 

“I haven't thought how this would affect you.”

“Next time think before you speak! I thought you had learnt this by now! Well, you can leave for now. Don't forget the book – you will still have to practise for the entry exam. Expect me to send for you soon, as the state attorney will probably want to talk to you.”


	90. Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Sixth Letter

Finally a letter from Konoha arrived. It was addressed to Sasuke, so Sasuke opened it and had a look. (He did the same with the rest of Naruto's fanmail, as he still considered it necessary to protect him.) He began to read: 

Dear Sasuke, 

Thanks for the photos and the two copies of the Gutsy Ninja you and Naruto sent us! I was pleased to see what you and Naruto look like these days, though the foreign clothes that are fashionable in Music Town don't suit you well. Yet nothing will make you look ugly! Only the photo where you and Naruto are kissing looks gross. I have shown it to Hinata, and she thinks it gross too. She sends her regards, however, and she asked me to tell you that she's glad that you and Naruto are doing fine. She gives her thanks too, both for the book and the photos: They give her courage to hold on and keep resisting, to work for Danzou's demise and hope for your and Naruto's return. Most of all the Gutsy Ninja gave her a lot of joy, reminding her of Naruto's courage, his persistence and also his enduring love for peace. 

We show both the photos and the book to people whom we trust to be sceptical of Danzou, and they feel encouraged too. To see that Naruto is well off in another town and not hidden away in some secret place gives us confidence that Danzou is not all powerful.

We don't show the picture where you kiss, of course. People would be disgusted, and it would not advance our cause. So we are glad that you sent some other picture too.

The picture where they weren't kissing also clearly showed that he and Naruto were lovers, Sasuke thought. People were weird, he concluded.

People are not certain what to think of you. They still remember that you mysteriously survived the murder of your clan and that a few years later you deserted from Konoha. Some wonder whether the murderer did not have a good reason to kill your clan. Others wonder whether he had a bad reason to kill the clan, and that sparing you was part of his evil plan. Hinata doesn't care what people say, however. If you make Naruto happy it's all fine with her, and she will forgive you whatever you may have done.

Everyone distrusts me, Sasuke thought, even Hinata, even when she tries to appear friendly and sends her regards. He could not blame her: his attack against Killerbee was not easily forgiven. He continued reading: 

Also, reading about the town you're staying at and reading the Gutsy Ninja gives us hope that there is something else than the permanent state of war Danzou keeps talking about, so that one is not constantly under the strain of having to protect oneself. 

The newest development in Konoha is that we have stopped doing missions. The situation is too dangerous, Danzou says, so every shinobi is needed at home to defend the village, otherwise the other countries would unite and attack us.

Sasuke, who was still following the newspaper on a regular basis, wondered: He had read harsh criticisms of Danzou, both from politicians of other countries and journalists from Music Town, but not any open threats. 

We suspect, however, that the real reason is that too many people have deserted. Missions have always been the weak link in preventing desertions, most of all now that hostile countries welcome deserters with open arms instead of hunting them down as rogue nin, as they should.

On the other hand, not going on missions reduced the death toll. Most people feel relieved. I am relieved too, as for me this means less work. 

My mother agrees with me and Hinata that the threat from outside is just a pretext to abandon missions. Sai, however, doubts it: He told me that the new edition of the Gutsy Ninja was widely discussed among Danzou and his advisors. Everybody knows now that Konoha no longer provides over the kyuubi, and other countries might see this as an ideal opportunity to attack us. Of course thanks to Akatsuki they no longer provide over their bijuu either, but their regular forces are much stronger than those of Konoha as they haven't suffered from a complete destruction. Danzou expects an attack any moment.

They can't admit this, however, as they don't want people in Konoha to know that Naruto has managed to flee before he was put to that secret place. For this reason the Gutsy Ninja isn't available in bookshops in Konoha, and the two copies Naruto sent us are everything we have. The administration wants us to believe that they are still as strong as ever, so that no one dares to resist them. 

Concerning your question whether I knew how the Second Ninja World War started: I have never heard any details about the attack on Amegakure. Actually I don't know much about the war at all, only some stories about the Sandaime and his advisors heroic deeds that helped end the war. I asked my mother about it, and she said that it's well known that the Second Ninja World War was started by Konoha. She was a small child when it happened, living in the capital of Fire Country with her own parents. A lot of civilians in the capital were angry at Konoha then, saying that the daimyou should put it on a shorter leash and give it less autonomy, but then news arrived that Amegakure had been taken over with hardly any losses and people stopped criticizing Konoha. When finally it became known that the Hidden Cloud had been planning a strategic alliance with Amegakure, which would have given them a decisive advantage, everyone praised the wisdom and foresight both of Danzou and the Sandaime. It was not known at the time that Danzou, not the Sandaime, was mainly responsible for the attack: people spoke mostly of the ninja regime or the ninja administration, not taking any notice of the differences between different fractions. 

Inspired by my question my mother spoke to some of her own colleagues and neighbours, asking them what they remembered of the start of the second ninja world war. Most of them remember that Konoha attacked first, and they also remember that Danzou initiated the invasion of Amegakure. They don't blame him however. “It was necessary”, they say. “Otherwise Kumo would have taken it for itself.”

When my mother reminds them that the war as a whole did not go well but ended with huge losses on both sides and no substantial gains for anyone people say that this was later and has nothing to do with the original attack against Amegakure.

So my mother warns us against using the attack on Amegakure as a way to persuade people to join our side and rise against Danzou. Most supported it, even though they are critical of the war as a whole. 

My mother also warned us again against making public our suspicion that your clan was murdered on orders of Danzou. Sai has taken up searching for documents in the Hokage's private archives. Apparently there have been some weird activities of members of your clan, like breaking into the Hokage's tower and the head quarters of ANBU and Root. Of course this does not necessarily mean that they were planning a coup d'etat. Sai tries to find out more. 

So maybe they really did something, Sasuke thought, and had not been innocent. He had avoided the thought all the time, blaming only Danzou and directing his hatred against him. But maybe they had done something and, in some way, deserved what had happened. 

There is also some other news. Hinata is pregnant. The child's father is Neji, and they plan to marry soon. Danzou tries to put obstacles in their way, but it's unlikely that he will succeed, not when she's pregnant already. Public opinion is that one should not separate a child's parents. Danzou senses that with this marriage Hinata intends to strengthen her position as head of her clan. Both he and Hinata's father would have preferred her younger sister Hanabi, her father because Hanabi is a stronger fighter, Danzou because Hanabi has not yet made any unreasonable requests, as asking about your wellbeing. With Neji at her side, who is now the strongest shinobi of the clan, nobody can question her status as head of the clan. Hinata's most important aim, however, is to abolish the separation between the main house and the branch house and to unite both lines. 

A side effect of her pregnancy is that Danzou now has to accept her retirement as a shinobi. He has established a rule that mothers-to-be are exempt from active duty as fighters: Konoha is in need of new ninja and cannot risk their lives and health by risking the health or life of their mothers. 

He was not happy about this particular pregnancy, of course. He summoned Hinata to his office and accused her of betraying Konoha, refusing to risk her life for the village as it is the duty of every shinobi. I went with her, as I had to confirm her pregnancy. She stood silent and did not say anything and she suffered a lot from his reproaches, but in the end he ran out of breath and of words. He cannot do anything, not even force her to abort the baby as we have made sure that the whole village knows about her pregnancy so that people would wonder if she does not walk around with a baby in her arms in due time. People would notice, and remind him of his own words that women have their own share of the burden of strengthening Konoha in giving birth to future shinobi and shouldn't risk their life fighting. Indeed, Konoha has to rise its birth rate, as a lot of people have died or deserted and the number of active shinobi has considerably decreased. 

Danzou cannot do anything about Hinata's pregnancy, but he has taken other means. He has abolished the special role of the old clans, particularly the clan council. It's a step directed against Hinata, preventing her from making use of her position as head of one of the most powerful and most respected clans in Konoha. But also he has got rid now of the last institution that might have set boundaries to his rule, as the ANBU council and the Jounin council are both dominated by his followers now. The clan assembly hasn't assembled since the attack of the kyuubi, and it hasn't had any political significance for years, still merely by existing it stood between Danzou and absolute power, and now it's gone too.

Danzou claims it's a step to more equality among ninja, as the clans no longer have a special role in the administration of the village, just as all ninja take an equal share in the hardships and risks of protecting the village, no matter whether they are from one of the clans that founded Konoha or from a civilan family that has immigrated to Konoha only one or two decades ago. He also plans to dissolve the clans' compounds amd make people live with their core family only, as most civilians do, but this takes time and effort. We fear that dissolving the Hyuuga clan and cutting their special bonds of loyalty will be his first aim. 

So this is how things are going in Konoha. I am glad that you and Naruto are doing fine in that other place. It seems to be a better place than Konoha at the moment, even though its sexual mores are somewhat relaxed. 

With love, Sakura.


	91. Chapter Eighty-Eight: Trust

“Sexual mores may be a bit relaxed here”, Sasuke said, “but at least people don't get pregnant here in order to be allowed to get married.” 

Naruto looked at him, waiting for some explanation. He had received two letters, one from Sakura, one from Hinata, but even together they had been much shorter than Sakura's letter to Sasuke. 

“And they don't get pregnant in order to chicken out from their duties”, Sasuke continued.

“Which duties?” Naruto asked. “Who is chickening out?” 

“Hinata. She got pregnant in order to be relieved from her duties as a shinobi.”

“She's pregnant? She writes about getting married, but not about being pregnant.”

“She is: read yourself!” 

They exchanged letters, and Sasuke read what Sakura and Hinata had written to Naruto.

Dear Naruto! 

Thanks for the copies of the Gutsy Ninja! Kakashi read it in a single session. He said it was a pageturner but I think he just turned the pages until he arrived at the love scene. He told me explicitly however to tell you that he liked your introduction.

I lend my copy to everyone who might enjoy it. People here long for something that does not sound like Danzou's speeches about the need for constant vigilance against the enemies of Konoha, but they don't dare to hope that a dream as peace might come true. They are glad however that you are alive and well.

Love Sakura. 

P.S. I've told Hinata that you're gay and that she has to cope with it. After all, I had to cope with it too.

Hinata's letter went like this: 

Dear Naruto! 

I'm happy and glad that you are doing fine and that you have found true love, even though I am astonished to hear that you're gay now. I thought you were too strong and masculine for that. Sakura tells me I have to accept it, as such a thing cannot be changed, and I do my best. Be assured, however, that I will always bear you in my heart and wish you all the happiness in the world, and also I will always cherish the dreams that were dear to you. 

I want to inform you that I'm going to marry Neji. I want to make sure that your promise that the state of affairs in the Hyuuga clan will be changed comes true. As my husband Neji will be at my side as my equal, there won't be a main house and a branch house any more, and no one-sided duty for members of the branch house to sacrifice themselves for the main house. I'm certain that you will approve of this. 

Always with love, Hinata

Sasuke put down the letter: “And Neji goes along with it: Marrying Hinata even though she's in love with you.” 

“He agrees to her motives”, Naruto answered. “He, too, wants a union between the branch house and the main house.”

“And for this he will put up with Hinata dreaming of you when they have sex.”

“She won't do this”; Naruto replied. “She's honest and gentle and has a soft heart. She'll be a great wife to Neji. She'll be a great mother to her child, too, even though she got pregnant in order to be spared from going on missions. She'll be a much better mother than fighter. If Danzou had sent her on a mission it would have been only to get her killed. She did the right thing.”

“You're a great fighter, and you'll also be a great father”, Sasuke said, touching Naruto's hand and then drawing him into an embrace. Naruto returned first the embrace and then Sasuke's kisses, and they ended up having sex and not mentioning the letters any more.

Still Sasuke was jealous of Hinata. Naruto had told him that he had never been in love with her, but now the words he had used to describe her made Sasuke feel that these were all qualities he himself lacked. Maybe Naruto again – or still – longed for female softness? He had not yet said clearly “I am gay” even though he was not embarrassed to show that he was in love with Sasuke and had no issues with people concluding from this that he must be gay. Still Sasuke longed for Naruto to tell him that he loved him as a man so that he would no longer be afraid of Naruto remembering the charms of femininity.

The real issue of course was still that Sasuke had attacked Killerbee. They did not discuss it, and Naruto did not speak of any doubts he had about their relationship, they also had sex and danced with each other and pretended that everything was fine, but they weren't as close as they had been before. Their fellow dancers also saw that something had changed, but except their closest friends they attributed the change to the normal development of their relationship: no longer courting, no longer feeling the bliss of first love when you cannot get enough of each other, but again seeing each other as separate persons and having to cope with their differences, working out a balance between closeness and distance. (Most of them thought that the boys were far too close and that some distance did them well.) 

The dancers were still the group they felt most at home with, but dancing itself had lost some of its significance for them as they no longer needed it as a pretext to touch each other. They listened with interest to the long-term couples when they told them what dancing meant to them. “Doing something together we both enjoy”, they said, and some of them added: “Expressing our love for each other in a way that's more poetic and more human than just having sex.” Others enjoyed it just as a sport: These were the best couples, and often they were not lovers but friends, and sometimes just people who suited each other as dance partners. 

Naruto and Sasuke joined this last group, seeing dancing as a sport and getting ambitious. There was a tournament was scheduled for the middle of October and they planned to participate. Everyone in their group did: It was considered fun, even if you started in the lowest group, even if you did not win.(Of course everyone still did their best not to lose.) 

Sasuke and Naruto wanted to win. When they took a private lesson to get a sequence it took their dance teacher quite some effort to persuade them that they were not yet good enough for the highest class and that they should not waste their time practising Paso Doble which was only required from the top couples.

“You can be proud of what you achieved until now”, the dance teacher said. “Don't forget you only started this summer, and you started from zero.” 

“Don't forget we're ninja”, Naruto said. “We learn quickly. And we've never been content being second.”

For a moment the dance teacher looked annoyed, then he got a grip on himself. (This happened more and more often when the boys mentioned that they were ninja, not only with the dance teacher but with anyone.) “I have actually considered this”, he said. “I've thought about some semi-acrobatic figures. Maybe you can change roles for them so that Naruto can show off his strength.”

“Sasuke's strong too”, Naruto said. “He just chooses to hide his muscles under these stupid fancy long-sleeved shirts.” (He himself was wearing a tight, sleeveless one, as he always did on warm days.)

“You'll discuss costumes later”, the dance teacher said. “I'll show you what I mean.”

There was not much to what he called acrobatics: not a single somersault, and neither did they have to lift each other, at least not over their heads. The only exception was a figure in jive where one had to hold the other bridal style, yet only for half a second, then the dancing went on. 

So what was left were figures where one partner leant back so that the other had to support him, and they proved to be a real challenge: Neither boy had the courage to let go and entrust his weight to the other. 

“Sasuke's strong enough to hold you”, the dance teacher said to Naruto. “You yourself told me about his strength. You need some tension so that he can hold you, but if you struggle to balance your whole weight on the tip of your toe the whole figure looks ridiculous. Now change roles so that you can see for yourself that it does not take much strength to hold your partner!” 

They obeyed and now it was Sasuke who drove the dance teacher crazy. 

“Just trust him to hold you. We want him to show off his strength – how is he supposed to do this if you don't let him take responsibility?” 

He broke off the training and sat down to talk to them. “It's not a matter of strength. Even some of the female couples do the figure. It's a matter of trust. You're lovers, aren't you? You should trust each other by now.”

“We don't lift each other during sex”, Naruto said.

Sasuke felt annoyed that Naruto gave away details of their love life. The dance teacher, however, thought it amusing: “You should try. It allows for some interesting positions. You are ninja, aren't you?” 

Neither boy answered. 

“Well, it's your business how you want to have sex. But I am responsible for the quality of your dancing.” 

Even without the special figures working out a sequence for the tournament turned out difficult. Sasuke had grown insecure and stiff during the recent weeks and was no longer able to let go and enjoy showing off Naruto. Naruto on the other hand overdid with his extroversion, even though he did not have any audience during this private lesson. The dance teacher told him to cut down on it. “You need to be a bit more balanced when you dance at a tournament”, he said, “and you have to consider Sasuke's limits.”

Naruto felt offended, but he was content again when the dance teacher turned to Sasuke: “And you stop hiding behind Naruto. There's some passages when you dance in parallel, and then not only your steps but also your expressions must be in harmony. At least try to smile!”

Sasuke tried.

“That's good enough. Nobody expects a dancer's smile to be natural. People know that dancing is hard work and demands concentration.”

Naruto's smile was natural, and all three of them knew it. Both boys felt frustrated. 

“You still have a couples of weeks to practise”, the dance teacher said. “You don't only win points for your figures and for dancing in time with the music, but also for your expression. As it is, your figures will get you to a high class, but your expression and your lack of balance will prevent you from winning.”

When the boys went home they were silent. Only when they had almost arrived at their place Sasuke found the heart to speak the words that hurt him most: 

“You may look for another partner. We'd still be lovers. A lot of people dance at tournaments without being in love.”

Naruto laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. “What fun would it be to dance with someone else? We did this dancing thing because we wanted to dance together, didn't we?” He thought about it a bit more, and got aware of another aspect of Sasuke's words. “What happened to you? You don't just admit that I'm better dancer and don't do anything about it.”

Sasuke thought that Naruto had been the better dancer from the beginning and that no matter how much progress he had made Naruto had remained the better dancer, as he had progressed too.

“I can train to learn the movements”, he said. “But not even the Sharingan will help me become more extrovert, or smile more.” 

Naruto was silent for some seconds, not knowing what he could say to comfort Sasuke, or to cheer him up. 

“At least we should learn these figures where we hold each other”, he said finally. “People think it ridiculous that we are lovers but don't trust one another well enough to hold each other.” 

They decided to practice: In the dojo where they taught taijutsu to their group of children, and at home, one of them sitting on the edge of the bed and the other sitting on his lap and leaning back, supported by the other's arm. It was hard work for both of them, letting the other support their whole weight, and they progressed only in small steps, needing a lot of encouragement from the one who was doing the holding: “You are not too heavy! I have a good grip on you, my hands are just at the right place under your shoulderblades. I can hold you – just let go!” 

When he finally felt Sasuke fully relax in his arms – more fully than ever during sex – entrusting to him his whole weight, Naruto felt a wave of tenderness flood him, he bowed over Sasuke and kissed him, and then Sasuke got active again and kissed him back, and they had a making-out session. 

It did not work the other way around. They got both frustrated about it and they kept trying, yet Naruto was just not able to let go completely. He felt sad because he sensed that he was missing something, but he could not force himself to relax.

Sasuke felt frustrated too. He felt that he was not able to convince Naruto that he could trust him.

“I've betrayed you too often”, he said, kissing him gently on his forehead. “You'll lead these figures and show off your strength, just as we planned originally.”


	92. Chapter Eighty-Nine: Manliness

Naruto had not clearly said “I am gay”, but he was fully integrated into the gay community by now, and he behaved like it, embracing the other men and kissing them on their cheeks when he met them and sometimes standing next to them with his arms around their shoulders. Sasuke was more reserved: he embraced the men he considered his friends, but kissing them was not his cup of tea. Neither would he put another man's strand of hair back to where it belonged, nor wipe some beer foam off another man's nose or corner of his mouth. Naruto would do both, and then he would lick the foam off his finger. Sasuke wondered whether Naruto was aware that this was a highly erotic gesture: Probably not, as Naruto was far too innocent to tease people like that. On the other hand Naruto had invented his erotic no jutsu when he had been only twelve, so maybe Sasuke was mistaken about Naruto's innocence.

Sasuke could see what other men saw in Naruto: his strong, confident manliness, and a promise of easy, straightforward sex, not too subtle perhaps, but also without any complications. They'd all bottom for him, Sasuke thought, just as he did, and unlike himself they would not desire that one day Naruto would also bottom for them. They'd be content to be touched by the light Naruto was radiating, even when he discussed football, as he did now.

They would not see what he, Sasuke, regularly saw during their love-making: Naruto's vulnerability, how he looked like a child who was given a birthday present without having expected one, just as he had when Sasuke had offered to share his food with him during Kakashi's bell test. Sasuke loved this look in Naruto's eyes when he initiated anal sex (Naruto never initiated it by himself), and this alone was enough to make it worthwhile. He saw it less and less frequently now, however – maybe this was an effect of Naruto gaining confidence as a lover, but maybe it meant that Naruto no longer valued Sasuke's offer of love as he used to.

Sasuke was afraid of losing Naruto. There were days when he feared losing him to some woman, and there were days when he was afraid of losing him to another man. He considered it well possible that one day Naruto would discover that other men were attractive too, and then again he expected Naruto to declare that he was not gay and that it had all been a mistake. Sasuke was nervous and restless. 

Naruto had not said explicitly that he was gay, but he had consented to do drag. He and Sasuke had discovered the phenomenon of drag in a show in one of the cellar clubs of Music Town, a show aimed at gay people they had visited with their friends, where a man in drag had done the moderation. It had taken Naruto some time to work out that this was actually a man, and he had let everyone participate in the process of discovering the truth, not only their friends but also the people in the rows before and behind them. He had even managed to attract the attention of the guy in drag himself and had been invited on stage and made a complete fool of hismelf, at least in Sasuke's opinion. (The other men just made some friendly, teasing remarks, and then returned to their normal behaviour.) 

Sasuke had not been any faster in discovering that this was a guy than Naruto, but he had been better at hiding his confusion (at least in his own eyes). He had felt disgusted by the show as a whole, and by the guy in drag in particular. This was not why he had left Orochimaru! 

Naruto was not reminded of Orochimaru, but of Haku, and to him the show had been fascinating and he kept talking about it, yet neither to Sasuke nor when he was present, as he had well understood that Sasuke had not liked it. 

“Why did the guy dress up as a woman?” he asked the guy from Earth Country. “You like men, don't you? People tell me they like it when I show off my chest.”

“You are definitely liked for your manliness”, the man replied. “You look manly and you move like a real man, particularly when you discuss football and want to convince others of your expertise.” 

“And else?” 

“Else you are just cute.” 

Naruto thought about it – he was not sure whether he should regard this as a compliment. “Sasuke looks cute”, he said. “He might dress up as a woman.” 

They both looked at Sasuke who was busy dancing with another man, leading him into a complicated figure. 

“Don't tell him – he won't like it”, the guy from Earth Country said.

For some seconds they stood in silence, watching Sasuke. He was a pleasure to watch, actually, when he was not outshone by Naruto: His movements soft and elegant and flowing like a middle-sized river, and you could see how he was gentle and considerate of his partner. 

“Would you prefer Sasuke as a woman?” the guy from Earth Country asked. 

Naruto considered it. “He's Sasuke, and he's a man. He would not be Sasuke if he were a woman. Also, he's extremely strong, even though he does not look like it.” 

“Women can be strong too.”

Naruto remembered Sakura, and Tsunade. “Yes, but their strength consists of shouting at people and punching those who won't strike back anyway.”

“I did not speak of physical strength”, the guy from Earth Country replied. 

They were silent again for a while, watching Sasuke dancing. 

“Do you sometimes regret that you are not with a woman?” the guy from Earth Country continued. 

Naruto shook his head. “As I said, Sasuke's cute. He's prettier than most women. You know, when we were children and on our first mission as young ninja I met a boy who was just like that – pretty as a girl, even behaving like a girl, which is not the case with Sasuke, and he was extremely strong too. He taught me about the importance of love, and of having a precious person to live for. Soon after this I fought side by side with Sasuke and realized that he might become such a precious person to me. There's days when I catch myself staring at women's breasts, but when I think of losing Sasuke it feels as if my heart was being cut out from my ribcage while I am still alive. It broke apart once when he left me as a child, and only now I feel whole again.”

He thought that the news of Sasuke's attack against Killerbee had felt as if his heart had been cut out again. The Sasuke he loved and whom he had come to accept as a lover had vanished and made place for some unknown person who attacked other people unprovokedly. He knew far too little of that other person. 

The music stopped and Sasuke's partner apparently needed a break. Naruto left the the guy from Earth Country and went to Sasuke to ask him for the next dance. The Sasuke he had fallen in love with was still there...

It was a few days later that Naruto was asked to do the moderation on some private birthday party. A man of the gay community, a loose acquaintance of himself and Sasuke, was turning sixty and his partner was organizing a huge party for him, inviting friends from all phases of his life, including his ex-wife and his children and grand-children. They'd all contribute something to the party: a poem, a short dramatical performance, or some music, and Naruto was expected to announce the different groups and also the breaks for eating and drinking and talking. He was asked to do this exactly because he was not a close friend and would not contribute anything himself, but also because the man and his boyfriend expected him to be good at it. Naruto hesitated, but the men standing around him when he received the request encouraged him: “You have to learn to speak in public!” they said. “You plan to be Hokage one day, don't you?” 

Naruto accepted, but he regretted his decision when the next day his friends told him that he was expected to do the moderation in drag. 

“We'll all go in drag”, his acquaintances told him (not the man who was organizing the party). “The man's family is fairly conservative and still holds some weird ideas about gay people, so we won't disappoint them. We'll also do a small performance, and you have to participate.” 

Naruto was taken by surprise and didn't say anything.

“You cannot chicken out”, another man added. “You'll be on stage. We need you.” 

“I don't look like a woman”, Naruto said. 

“You will. You'll be the best-looking man and the best-looking woman at the same time.” 

“Like this?” Naruto asked, turning into his erotic no jutsu form.

The men covered their eyes and turned away. None of them stood staring in fascination as men normally did. They were gay, Naruto remembered, and women didn't do anything to them. (They sometimes stared at him however in the changing-room – both he and Sasuke had adopted the top couples' habit of changing clothes after dancing, just to make clear that dancing was a real sport that caused them to sweat.) 

He changed into his natural form, and the men turned back to him. He had to explain his jutsu and its purpose: distracting his enemies during combat, and they laughed and called it the best ninja technique they had ever heard of, yet when they had stopped laughing they explained to him that this was not what they meant.

“You remain a man, just in women's clothes. Some people may have to look twice, but then they will realize that you're a good-looking young man, not a pretty girl.”

Naruto still hesitated. 

“Come on”, the guy from Earth Country said. “It's fun! For some hours you let go off the strain of having to prove that you're tough and strong and manly and discover your soft, feminine side, and when the party is over you change back and are a man again. You'll enjoy it!” 

Naruto gave in, swept away by the general excitement and anticipation, and as the men had told him, he soon enjoyed going shopping with them and choosing a dress – a long, extravagant gown with a slit up to the belt that allowed him to show off his legs. They also bought high-heels for him, and a wig of long yellow hair. Together they decided about a suitable bra size and taught him how to stuff it, and also he in his turn gave advice to his companions when they chose dresses, shoes and accessories for themselves and discussed the correct bra size for a man who needed a new one to suit his newly acquired belly, and some cushions to stuff his hips. 

Sasuke did not participate. He had gone so far as to tell the boyfriend of the man who turned sixty that he had to renounce the invitation, and when the man asked for the reason, he told him that he would not go in drag: in his understanding being gay did not mean that he had to dress in a particular way, and least of all as a woman.

The boyfriend had not even known of the group's plan to dress up as women, so he told Sasuke that he was not under any obligation to wear anything special. “Just consider that this is a sixtieth birthday and don't wear your oldest jeans”, he said.

Sasuke did not own any old jeans, as he had not even known about jeans before his arrival in Music Town, meaning that his oldest jeans were a few months old. He considered telling Naruto that he could also opt out and do the moderation in men's clothes, but he decided against it: it had not escaped him that Naruto was having a lot of fun with the project. Sasuke confined himself to having an eye on him, accompanying the group on their shopping trips and commenting on their costumes. He still felt irritated by the sight of his friends in drag, and most of all by Naruto himself: he looked good, but Sasuke definitely preferred him as a man.

So his comments oscillated between sincere compliments and snarky remarks, and sometimes even advice to buy the most ridiculous piece of clothing, saying openly that he considered it stupid. (Often the men would even follow this kind of advice.) He felt that the rest of the group rather tolerated than welcomed him; often they shut him up when his remarks got too nasty, and once or twice they were on the point of telling him to stay home if he did not like their activities. They did not do it as they were used to him and Naruto staying within eyesight of each other, so that they could not imagine him to leave while Naruto was with them. After some time Sasuke understood that it was better to shut up and behaved accordingly. 

The worst shock however was when the men of the gay community who were not dressing up as women and not taking part in the performance told Sasuke that they were going to participate in some way too: they'd wear something fanciful (but still men's clothes) and he should do the same: choose a shirt with frills, for example, or some bright colours, or an extra deep neckline. Even if they were not dressing as women they still wanted to show clearly that they were gay, confirming the other guests' clichés. 

Sasuke tried to refuse: “I don't have to wear anything special to mark myself as gay”, he said.

“Not when you and Naruto are holding hands all the time”, the husband of the guy from Earth Country replied. “But he won't have time to do this as he'll be busy on stage, so you'll have to show what you are in other ways. - Come on, how do you ever want to change the political situation in Konoha if you don't have the courage to stand by yourself and your friends?” 

Sasuke did not see any connection, but he lacked the words to reply in any meaningful way. Soon people began to notice what he was wearing and to point out to him when they thought that he was wearing something fanciful that might be suitable for the birthday party. Sasuke felt annoyed: He chose his clothes because he considered them beautiful and suiting him, not because he wanted to look particularly gay. He hated it when his favorite shirt was called fit for the birthday party, which in his ears meant that it was considered typically gay. He had to force himself not to abandon the shirt after hearing such a verdict. 

In the end a couple of their friends were invited by Naruto to come to their place and have a look at Sasuke's wardrobe and decide what he should wear, and Sasuke did not have the heart to disinvite them. They checked the clothes he owned and found a lot of them suitable for the occasion, but it were the pants he had worn at Orochimaru's place, complete with rope and piece of cloth around his hips, that gained general appraisal: the men found them hilarious and weird and could not believe their ears when they learnt that he had worn them for years as ordinary clothes, not as part of a costume. 

“That's what you have to wear!” they said. “There's no excuse! If you could wear them as a shinobi you can wear them on a completely peaceful birthday party too!”

Sasuke considered faking an illness at the day of the party.


	93. Chapter Ninety: Biopic Show

In the end Sasuke didn't chicken out. He had to keep an eye on Naruto, he told himself, and also, though he would not admit it (not even to himself) he was curious how Naruto would do: He had watched him practise walking on high heels, he had watched him sitting at his table working out his text, he had even accompanied him to the birthday boy and his partner to receive some information about the different groups so that he knew how to announce them. 

“You'll have to improvise”, he was told. “There's always people who withdraw their presentation at the last moment, and other people, distant friends from long ago, whom we were happy to track down as we had lost contact long ago, suddenly decide that they want to do a song too.”

Sasuke didn't chicken out, and he wore what he was supposed to wear, the garments he had worn at Orochimaru's place: he could not afford not to wear them as on the days before the party everyone had reminded him of them (sometimes several times). 

He did not wear them on the way to the community center, where the party was going to take place. It was an easy decision: He just went with Naruto who did not wear his costume either and who arrived an hour earlier so that he had time to change and apply his make-up. Sasuke changed too (and applied a new layer of gel to his hair – wearing ridiculous clothes or not, he would not present himself without his hair standing up) and then spent his time watching Naruto until someone told him that he should rather help carry around tables and make coffee. Sasuke felt uncomfortable in his clothes, thinking that everyone was staring at him, but people talked to him just as they did on other days. (Some of them complimented him to his open shirt and told him to wear it more often. He could accept the compliments as they came from men wearing costumes far crazier than his.) 

He was glad however when the show began so that he could withdraw into the corner where the gay men were sitting so that the other guests would not single him out. The plan was ruined however when in the first break he was told to help serve coffee: he did his best to behave normal, and people behaved normal, but he could feel their irritation, and the little children were staring at him.

Naruto arrived ten minutes late in the main hall. He looked gorgeous, and you had to look twice to see that he was actually a man. In the last minutes someone must have adjusted his bra to a smaller, more realistic size, meaning he looked now less like a caricature and more like a beautiful tall slender young woman. For some minutes he stood around talking to the birthday boy's partner, then he entered the free space between the tables and began to speak: 

“Dear ladies and gentlemen”, he started, then he got rid of the microphone someone had given him. “Dear ladies and gentlemen, I want to welcome you to today's show that will take us on a journey through sixty years, from the moment of our friend's birth to the present day when he's sitting among us, his friends, celebrating a happy and successful life. So now I will ask the people on stage who were the first to welcome him on this earth.” 

The man's parents arrived. They were very old, and not able to do a performance or play a musical instrument, but the father read a poem he had written himself, and the mother brought a giant teddy bear she had found in the attic. She had washed the bear and replaced an eye and an ear, had patched a few holes and filled the bear with new material. She also told an episode about how the bear had once got lost and how the jubilant's father had retrieved it after several adventures. (No adventure compared to what he or Naruto had gone through, Sasuke thought, only adventures according to the standards of Music Town as asking all the neighbours and then climbing into some ditch that had partly filled with water and then saving the bear from drowning. There were no real problems in Music Town, Sasuke thought, so people had the time to go to great lengths to save teddy bears.) 

The jubilant embraced his parents and happily received the teddy bear and placed it on his lap, and people took photos of him feeding the bear as children do, but later the bear was replaced by a grand-child, and some older grand-children took the bear to play with it. 

Naruto announced the next group: some kindergarten friends with guitars and ukulele, doing a performance and singing a kindergarten song that had been popular when the man had been a few years old. The performance was weird and amateurish, Sasuke thought, just as the man's father's poem, but he had been ready to make allowances for the father. The song was okay, though.

Group after group entered the stage, and for all of them Naruto had some friendly words to welcome them and a joke to thank them for their performance, giving them some glamour they lacked when they were actually on stage (or rather in the middle of the hall where the action took place.) The jubilant thanked them and embraced them all, and seemed happy about their amateurish performances, but Sasuke soon grew bored. Naruto was the best part of the show, he decided, taking all the performers more seriously than they deserved, but you could see the twinkle in his eyes: he knew that he was overdoing. 

People around Sasuke seemed to be of the same opinion. Sasuke received several compliments from men he had never spoken to – compliments meant for Naruto. 

The performances were boring, but the man's life was interesting, actually. Sasuke had learnt about it when he had visited the jubilant and his partner with Naruto to prepare for the birthday party, still he listened intently when Naruto retold the story: The man had been born when Music Town had still been a ninja village, he had attended the local ninja academy and though he had never been an active ninja who went on missions he had fought in the war. He had been a married man with kids already then, so he was not employed in the front line, still he could not avoid getting involved in several skirmishes. 

“Like all of us he soon came to hate war”, a speaker of a group of former comrades said. “He hated living in constant danger and seeing his friends and companions die, but even more he hated being forced to kill people who just like us were only doing their duty, fighting for their country, and who might have been our friends if our countries had not been at war. Like all of us he returned from war as a pacifist.”

The jubilant and his boy-friend had talked about this when Sasuke and Naruto had visited them in order to receive some information about the party. His words had been less clear than those of his comrades now: pain and sorrow had been too great to speak much about his time in the military. 

Sasuke had mostly listened at the time: he had thought of Itachi, and that he had loathed war too after he had seen it. But this man would not have agreed to any more killing after surviving the war - obviously there was something wrong about the alleged connection between Itachi's love for peace and his massacre against the family. 

Naruto had mostly listened too, quite impressed by the man's stories. He then openly told the men about Jiraiya, who had dreamt of peace but never spoken about the horrors of war, but mostly taught Naruto techniques for fighting. Only after his death had he shared with him his dream of peace. 

Both old men had listened to Naruto, and for the first time people in Music Town took serious the Gutsy Ninja: They honoured Jiraiya's dream of peace, even though they considered the book's conflict and its solution simplistic. 

“Young people take peace for granted so that they don't care about it. But we who still remember the war, we know that peace is precious and fragile. Jiraiya may have been naive, but he knew that there's nothing more precious than peace.”

Sasuke had felt tempted to tell his own story and ask the men whether they thought that Itachi's desire for peace justified the murder of his family, but he didn't speak up as it was obvious that the men would have been horrified by this thought. Also it was Naruto's evening, he was just accompanying him. Sasuke had been glad to see Naruto listening and speaking very seriously, for the first time fascinated by this town not for Sasuke's but for his own sake, so he did not want to interrupt him. Also, who knew it – maybe his family had not been innocent. 

He returned to the present, listening to Naruto as he told the saddest episode of the man's life – except the man himself, none of those involved were alive to tell the story: It was during his time in the military that the birthday boy had his coming out as a gay man. He had found a lover there, and finally given in to the desire of his heart which he had denied for years, going so far as to marry a woman and have kids with her. (Wife and kids were present, and the great-children could be heard playing in the corridor while Naruto made a dramatic pause.) 

“He had found true love”, Naruto spoke, “a love that was not twisted but that had taken hold of his whole being, body and soul. He and his lover fought to protect each other, they shared their food, they sought each other's bodies for lice and cared for each other when one of them was wounded. Yet when his lover received a fatal wound he was turned away when someone caught them kissing, even though he had carried him to the hospital in his own arms, and had stayed at his side, holding his hand while his wounds were treated without anaesthetics. He was discharged dishonourably, which he did not mind as he was glad that he escaped a war that only lasted on because the military and political leadership refused to admit defeat. But the joy of no longer having to fight was overshadowed by his grief about his lover's death, and the pain that he had not been allowed to stay with him when he died. He swore to himself that in the future he would work for peace so that no one, neither friend nor foe, would be forced to feel the same pain.”

Sasuke closed his eyes while he listened to Naruto: He wanted to hear his voice, not to see his stupid costume. This was how he loved him best, all serious, speaking from his heart, not making a fool of himself. He thought of their visit at the two men's place, where they had been shown a photo of the man and his lover in uniform, hanging at the wall at a prominent place in the living-room. 

“Isn't it weird for you to see this every day?” Naruto had asked the man's partner. “I mean, you are his partner now, he's supposed to love you, not some other man.”

The man had looked as if he had difficulties to understand Naruto's question. “We were fifty when we fell in love”, he had said. “You don't expect your partner to be a virgin when he's fifty. You rather expect him not to be a virgin, but a man who has lived a full life of his own. This love is part of him, and I love him as a whole, with this love. I would not want him to forget about it. I've had my own lovers too, after all.”

Sasuke had watched the thoughts rumbling around in Naruto's brain. 

“You'll understand this when you're fifty too”, the man had said, but Naruto had taken Sasuke's hand. “I intend to be with Sasuke when we are both fifty”, he had said, and the men had smiled and said that they hoped that nothing unforeseeable would separate them.

Sasuke had been glad to hear Naruto's words, but the man's story had moved him in a different way: So it was possible to be faithful to your old love and find happiness with a new lover at the same time, he thought. He could accept the love he had found with Naruto and be faithful to Itachi and his parents and the rest of the clan.


	94. Chapter Ninety-One: Second Best Day of my Life

The show went on, now telling about the birthday boy's life after the war. For a while he had gone on denying that he was gay, keeping hidden from everyone the true reason of his dishonourable discharge from the military, staying with his wife and his children, whom he did not want to leave. He tried to keep down his desire by getting busy: Joining a new football club and a new band – both groups gave performances, as did the jubilant's former and present colleagues. The people of the peace initiative he used to be member of were present, but they did not give any performance, not even a speech: they, too, had grown used to peace as must people in Music Town, and directed their political activities elsewhere, if they had stayed active at all, so that they had lost contact and were not able to give a performance. 

Naruto remained the best part of the show, introducing the performers as if they were famous artists celebrating a man who was some kind of hero, or at least an important politician or football star, not an ordinary man with an ordinary job in the administration of Music Town, where he spent his time sitting behind a desk filling in forms.

“Yet in Music Town nothing stays hidden forever”, Naruto continued his story. “People know people who know people, and in the end someone knew a man who knew the real reason of the dishonourable discharge. His wife asked to be divorced, and a time of loneliness followed, second in horror only to the time that immediately followed his lover's death. But rescue was near.”

Now the final part of the show began. Half an hour earlier the men of their own group who planned to participate in the performance had disappeared from the great hall, and now they returned, all in drag. The birthday boy had been asked by Naruto and his partner to sit on a chair in the middle of the room, surrounded by the guests at their tables, then they had withdrawn, only a few steps, but it sufficed to symbolize the jubilant's loneliness at the time. The man looked around, looking really a bit lonely, but mostly insecure and uncomfortable on his chair, then he perceived the men in drag. They all had entered the room silently through its various doors and were now waving at the jubilant from the back rows, laying their heads to the side and winking with their artificial eye lashes. 

“He began to notice a lot of strange people all over the town”, Naruto continued. “They were friendly and fascinating, and when one day he found the courage to talk to them they were ready to claim him as one of their own.”

It was the sign for the men to rush on stage, all in their evening gowns and on their high heels, and cover the birthday boy in embraces. He looked embarrassed, but also happy. 

“So he had finally found the family he truly belonged to”, Naruto concluded, “and after a short time he also found his new true love.” 

The boy-friend, not in drag but in a suit, found his way through the crowd to his partner, and the two men kissed and embraced. The birthday boy thanked his partner for organizing the party, then a huge bunch of flowers appeared from somewhere and was passed to the jubilant, who presented it to Naruto.

“And I want to thank our lovely hostess who has guided us safely on a long journey. So may I asked you for the first dance?” 

Naruto accepted and gave the flowers to one of the bystanders, who passed them on to someone else as he wanted to dance himself. In the end the flowers had found their way to Sasuke, who had kept in the background. He would have preferred to remain even further back, sitting in the corner from where he had watched the whole show, but the husband of the guy from Earth Country had urged him to join the group, telling him again that he should stand by himself and his friends. Now he told him to get a vase for the flowers: together they sought for one in the community center's kitchen and deposited the flowers there. 

When they returned to the hall they found Naruto receiving compliments from everyone and getting asked to dance by one man after the other. He was in bliss: he kissed people on their cheeks and blushed from the compliments under his make-up. Sasuke felt jealous: He would not have accepted Naruto's role in the show under any circumstances, but now he could not help feeling envious for the praise Naruto received, just for wearing a crazy costume and moderating a birthday party. 

After some time Naruto grew restless: he had missed Sasuke and feared that his hatred of the whole project had made him leave the party, and he was glad when he spotted him again in the hall. He turned down a man who wanted to dance with him, and found a way through the dancers to Sasuke: he looked quite insecure on his high heels by now, and he smelled of alcohol. Sasuke embraced him all the same. 

“Where have you been?” Naruto asked.

“I saved your flowers”, Sasuke answered. 

“You were not annoyed with me? Say, what did you think of me? Did I do well?” 

“You were the best part of the show”, Sasuke answered honestly, but he sounded far less enthusiastic than the other guests. 

“Will you dance with me too then?” 

Sasuke nodded and opened his arms, indicating that he intended to lead. He did not trust Naruto in his present state: even with him, Sasuke, leading they could not do more than dance the basic steps and some very easy figures, and when the music ended Sasuke led Naruto to his place at the table. (Actually Sasuke had drunk too while he had been watching the show, but he considered himself sober all the same.) 

Naruto did not sit down, but urged Sasuke to take a seat and then sat down on his lap. Sasuke hated himself for complying – he hated himself for behaving like a gentleman, just because Naruto had dressed up as a woman. At the same time he enjoyed the feeling of protecting Naruto...

Naruto took Sasuke's hands and folded them over his belly, then he reached out for his glass: a flat cocktail glass, and the drink was some sweet juice with a lot of cream and alcohol, complete with some fruits and a paper umbrella. He would not have touched it on other days, but now he said “I am a lady today.”

(The women in their own restaurant normally drank beer or wine, just as the men, But of course it was not the kind or restaurant that served cocktails.) 

Sasuke caressed Naruto's belly, and Naruto snuggled against him. 

“Do you really think I was good?” he asked again, and again Sasuke answered: “You were the best part of the show. You were fantastic.”

Naruto leant heavily against him and rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke was not sure whether he liked it: He preferred Naruto more independent and active, in men's clothes, and sober. When Naruto took his hands and laid them on his artificial breasts Sasuke shook Naruto's hands off and opened Naruto's dress on the back and moved his hands under the dress and the bra: he just needed to feel Naruto's real body. 

“I've always dreamt of this”, Naruto said. “I do something crazy and people like me for it: they don't hate me as they did in Konoha.”

Sasuke preferred it if Naruto did not make a fool of himself by doing crazy things as dressing up as a woman, but he didn't say so.

“People here have different values”, he said instead. 

“In Konoha I always wanted to be like you”, Naruto continued in a dreamy voice. Sasuke's words did not seem to have made it to his brain. “You were strong and people admired you for your strength, so I wanted to be strong too, so that people would admire me too. I did not manage, and so I did crazy things to gain people's love, or at least their attention, but this didn't work either. Here it works.”

“I never wanted you to be like me”, Sasuke replied. 

He had not wanted him to be a clown either, however. He did not know what he had wanted of Naruto when both of them had been children.

“No, you wanted me to be weak, so that you could feel superior”, Naruto replied. 

It was not true, Sasuke thought. Truth was actually that he wanted Naruto strong, almost as strong as himself, but not stronger. He could not admit this to Naruto of course. Here in Music Town this was irrelevant anyway, here Naruto had always been much better at interacting with the locals and gaining their recognition and friendship. Sasuke got better too, but Naruto moved like a fish in water.

“Stay with me here”, he said. “We don't need Konoha. We are better off here. People love you here.”

He kissed the spot between Naruto's neck and his shoulder. (A sleeveless gown had its advantages, Sasuke realized.) His hands moved over all of Naruto's body (still within the dress) and then Naruto removed his wig to give Sasuke better access to his neck. He took off his high heels too, and moved his toes when they had been liberated. He allowed himself just to enjoy Sasuke's caresses while he wondered about Sasuke's words. 

Slowly heir gay friends joined them as they had had enough dancing. One of them took a photo, which was when the boys stopped their activities. 

“You were great”, the man again told Naruto. “You should consider doing this more often. You can host the next ball, or be moderator on the main stage of the Gay Pride Parade.” 

“Or you can learn to perform. Create a funny show with a female character for yourself. Maybe you should learn to play the guitar and sing.”

“You might do it professionally. You have talent. You don`t want to remain a waiter for all your life, do you?” 

For the first time Naruto didn't answer that he intended to become Hokage of Konoha. He just enjoyed the praise and pressed Sasuke's hands that were now lying on his belly (no longer under the dress.) 

“This is the second best moment of my life”, he said. “The best was when I was welcomed back by the people of Konoha after all by myself I had defeated the aggressor who had destroyed the village. I had been hated during all my childhood for being the kyuubi's vessel, but when I had saved them they finally accepted me.”

He must be quite drunk to speak openly of the kyuubi, Sasuke thought. But nobody seemed to mind.

“I felt great, the work of many years had finally pad off”, Naruto continued. “But now” - he sought for words - “when people in Konoha welcomed me back it felt as if they were giving me a medal, but this feels as if you are presenting me a giant teddy bear.”

The men didn`'t know what to make of these words. Sasuke, however, did. He had always strived for the medal, not for the teddy bear. His parents had once given him a stuffed animal, he would not have wanted another one. 

“You really fought an aggressor who had already destroyed the whole village of Konoha?” the guy from Earth Country asked. “You never told us about it.” 

“I did. I told you that I am an extraordinary strong ninja, worthy of becoming Hokage.”

The men were silent, as this was beyond their scope of understanding. 

“We would defend Music Town too, wouldn't we, Sasuke?” 

He made a wide gesture with his arms to emphasize. The effect was ruined, however, by the fact that Naruto had still been holding his class, and some of the liquid had spilled out from it. Sasuke caught his hand and steadied it. 

“We will save your town, won't we?” Naruto repeated. 

“We will”, Sasuke answered. 

“We hope it won't be necessary”, the husband of the guy from Earth Country said. 

On their way home Sasuke had to steady Naruto, who was drunk from alcohol and bliss and had difficulties to walk even though he no longer was wearing his high heels. At one point he suddenly stood still, taking both of Sasuke's hands. 

“Sakura would have felt like a gold medal”, he said. “You feel like a teddy bear”.

Sasuke had no idea whether this was a compliments or not. He decided to make the best of hit and drew Naruto into an embrace: this was what giant teddy bears were good for, weren't they? He enjoyed Naruto's weight against his body, and he enjoyed the feeling of protectiveness.

Naruto felt Sasuke's warmth and thought that this was really very different to Sakura's embrace after his victory against Pain.


	95. Chapter Ninety-Two: Guardians

Naruto woke up with a horrible hangover, and Sasuke spent the morning looking after him, bringing him water and food, massaging his shoulders and later taking him on a walk to get some fresh air. He was content with himself again, feeling useful and no longer inferior to Naruto, the star of yesterday's show. 

The feeling of inferiority wore off even more when he received news that his official documents were ready and that he could pick them up at the head quarter of the police: He had been accepted as a citizen on probation eligible for full citizenship within a year provided that he chose a musical instrument and began to take lessons. He was advised to take his time however: if he chose one he didn't really like he wouldn't practise and it would all be in vain. 

It was more urgent to name some guardians, as he was still underage according to the laws of Music Town. “We'll find someone for you”, the woman in the office told him, “but only if you can't name anybody yourself.”

Sasuke asked one of Juugo's fostermothers, and she signed the form without asking any questions. She congratulated him on that major step towards citizenship, calling it a wise decision and telling her sons to buy some cake to hold a small celebration and welcome Sasuke as a citizen of their town. 

He also asked the husband of the guy from Earth Country. He had some reservations about this, as the man was only in his late twenties and seemed too young for such a role, yet he asked him all the same:

“It's just a formality”, he said. “I'm a minor here, because that's your law, but this does not mean that I lose my ability to look after myself and take responsibility for my own decisions. It's just that I need someone to sign forms for me. I can't even get a library card without a guardian's signature. It's not much work, and I'll be eighteen anyway in less than a year.”

“It will be your laws too once you are a citizen of Music Town”, the man said. He signed the form. “I feel honoured”, he said and got up to embrace Sasuke. They did not just lightly touch each other's shoulders as they did on other days, but held each other for several seconds, their cheeks touching. Naruto, who was watching them, got nervous, and when Sasuke sat down he took his hand to claim him as his own.

The guy from Earth Country asked whether he should sign too, but Sasuke told him that he had already found someone else. “A true conservative”, the man said when he had a look and saw that it was a female name. “Still thinking that a child needs father and mother.”

“I have parents, even though they're dead”, Sasuke answered in an icy voice. “I don't need any new ones.”

“No one suggested this”, the husband of the guy from Earth Country hurried to say. He went to the kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine, and they, too, celebrated Sasuke's acceptance as a citizen of Music Town.

They mostly made smalltalk, but several times the conversation turned to more serious matters, most of course to Sasuke's new status, but also to his plans for the future, concretely the progress of his application to the training center of the police. Sasuke told the men about the entrance test, that he was practising for it with a book, and that the tasks in the book were more difficult than he would have thought.

“It's not that important anyway”, he said. “There's only a small chance that I can start at the training center right away. It got known that during my years as a rogue nin I attacked the younger brother of the Raikage in order to deliver him to Akatsuki. It may be that I have to go to prison for this for some years. There I have time to catch up with learning.”

He said this in a casual manner as he was a bit drunk and as he had already made his peace with the idea of several years in prison. (He hoped that it wouldn't be too many years, of course.) All the same the two men were in shock.

“You attacked the brother of the Raikage?” they asked. “Why?”

“I had a deal with Akatsuki. They would support me if I brought them the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki. I did not do it in the end, however. I regret now that I ever attacked the man.”

The men were silent. They could not accept this easily, Sasuke realized.

“I regret it, and I'm ready to go to prison for it”, he said. “I gave a full confession to the police.”

The abyss opened again as he waited for the men's answer, horrified by the idea that he might lose their friendship, including the signature on the form for guardianship. The abyss was not without ground as it used to be – even if the men withdrew their friendship there'd still be people who cared about him, and the administration of Music Town would name a guardian for him – still he had difficulties to keep himself from panicking. 

“What happened to the man you attacked?” the local-born of the two men asked. 

“He's well. He lives in Music Town too. He has started a career as a musician. I've met him and made up with him.”

Again there was silence.

“It's good that you have told us now”, the man continued. “Now we are prepared that we have to organize a defense lawyer for you. It's better than receiving a surprise letter from the police.”

Sasuke had no idea what a defense lawyer was. The man explained it to him. 

“I don't need that”, Sasuke said. “I told you already: I gave a full confession to the police. I am ready to accept my punishment.”

He could see from the men's expressions that they considered his words rather foolish.

“I would not have thought this of you”, the man said.

Again Sasuke braced himself against what would follow. Even if he lost the men's friendship it was good that he had told them about his attack against Killerbee, he thought. Not telling would have constituted betrayal. 

“I guess we have to accept that you're a ninja and that you were raised to different standards”, the man said.

“That's not the case”, Sasuke replied, taking recourse to an attitude of pride and aloofness as always when he felt under strain. “I was taught to distinguish between right and wrong just as anyone else. What I did was wrong, and I am ready to go to prison for it. I – I agreed to do this when I first heard that my family was murdered on order of the authorities of Konoha. Then I thought that there was no such thing as good or evil, and that everyone was just fighting for himself and his people, so I'd do the same, avenging my clan. I was wrong, however. I should not have done it.”

He remembered how he had felt back then: his clan had been designated for extinction, and there weren't any laws to prevent it. He had still been wrong. 

He had to stop talking as he was no longer able to maintain his facade of aloofness. He had been all alone at that moment – he could have accepted Itachi's choice, and with it Itachi's death and his family's death and ultimately his own – or he could insist that the murder had been wrong and stand up against the universe itself. 

Still he should not have attacked Killerbee. He should have insisted that murder is wrong no matter who commits it and for what reason, standing up against the whole universe even if it meant his own death or, worse, abandoning his revenge.

“We'll see you through this”, the man said, sensing Sasuke's despair and misinterpreting it. “We'll ask around for a good defense lawyer for you.” He got up and embraced Sasuke. “We'll help you – don't be afraid.”

Naruto watched: he was jealous again. Sasuke had tried to commit the worst possible crime, murder, and he was rewarded with people embracing him and comforting him.

The next day Sasuke went to the head quarter of the police with his future guardians's signatures and picked up his new documents, then he spontaneously invited Naruto to a glass of coke and some ice-cream in one of the street cafes. He, too, suddenly felt the need to celebrate his new status as an aspiring citizen of Music Town. He had not expected that a single piece of paper would make such a difference, but it did: no longer being a rogue nin, no longer excluded from human society. Even if he had to go to prison he still wasn't fair game for any regular ninja. The piece of paper in his pocket was proof that he was welcome in town, that it was his right to live here, that no one could turn him away. 

He flirted with the waiter (who did not flirt back but just looked very irritated) and smiled at two policewomen who were on patrol on the opposite side of the street. They blushed and turned away: they had to remain focussed on their job. Seeing Sasuke every day Naruto no longer noticed his extraordinary beauty, but when it was enhanced by a smile he was still struck by it to a point that he forgot to breathe. 

Sasuke went on to the library, proudly presenting his new ID and smiling when he received his new library card and the form that had to be signed by his guardians. He borrowed some books just for the fun of it, even though he did not need them. He even enjoyed standing in queue waiting for his turn to register his books.

He also bought seasonal cards for the swimming-pool and the museum. Having an ID made life much easier, opening a lot of doors, he realized, allowing him to live like an ordinary citizen of Music Town. Life would be even easier when he was off age and no longer needed the signature of a guardian for simplest activities as opening a bank account. In this case the husband of the guy from Earth Country had even insisted on accompanying Sasuke, while with the library card he had signed the form after a short glance at it. Sasuke had been annoyed, but in the end he had been grateful: the man had turned down several of the advisor's offers, pointing out risks and traps Sasuke would never have noticed by himself. It seemed that he had to become a ninja in a completely new way in this town, looking at the underneath of the underneath of paper instead of stones and leaves.

Naruto watched his activities and often, yet not always, he accompanied him. He saw Sasuke's joy, he listened to his words: “I am human again, not a wild animal that can be hunted down by anyone if it's not strong enough to defend itself”, but he didn't understand them. Sasuke had been human all the time, hadn't he? He had been protected in Konoha, too: he, Naruto, but also Kakashi and Sakura would have protected him against any threat if he had not chosen to leave the village. He was also jealous because of the fuzz people made about him: not only signing forms, but also asking about his projects and plans. Juugo's fostermother even went with him to the assessment center of the police to make sure that he did not miss any deadline for enlisting for the entrance test, and she told him to practise diligently.

Naruto felt jealous, even though he did not fail to notice that Sasuke was not entirely happy about the woman's activities: he had been able to look after himself and apply for the job by himself, and he had not lost this ability just because he had chosen her as a guardian.

The other woman noticed Naruto's restlessness and took him to the side. “You should apply for citizenship too”, she said. “And you should consider learning a trade. I know you plan to become Hokage of Konoha one day, so you should consider learning something that comes useful in this office. Learn about economics or about administration – you'll need it. Stop wasting your time as a waiter.”

Naruto did not answer.

“Now for the moment you can practise looking after small children”, she continued, and to this Naruto agreed. He had looked after the little boy several times now, and he was getting better at it. He called the boy and helped him put on a jacket (he already knew how to do this, but he still could not help wondering about the child's smooth skin.) 

“Go to the river for a walk and feed the ducks”, the woman suggested to him. “You haven't been on a walk with him before, have you?”

Naruto had not. All the times before when he had looked after the boy he had stayed in the garden with him. 

“You don't have to walk a certain distance. Just spend some time outside, looking at things.” 

Naruto took the boy's hands. “We'll go to the river”, he said. “We'll have fun! We'll feed the ducks and throw stones into the water.”

He carried the boy until they reached the river (not the big river where he and Sasuke hang out in the evenings, but a smaller one quite near to the women's house), then he put him down and let him walk.

“Stone”, the boy said and headed straightaway to a big stone that was lying on the ground, just next to the path they were following. He lifted the stone (it was quite heavy for him), looked at its underside and gave it to Naruto. 

“You'll be a great ninja”, Naruto said. “Ninja look for details. They check everything. Here for example, that stne is all smooth. It must have lain in water not long ago. Someone must have put it here on purpose.” 

“Stone in water”, the boy repeated. Naruto took his little hand and let him feel the stone's surface. Then the boy picked up a leaf and gave it to Naruto.

“And the leaf is an oak leaf. There's oaks here, so there's nothing suspicious about this.” 

The boy took back the leaf and gave Naruto a pine cone.

“But this is strange. There's no pine anywhere. Someone must have left it here. Look, there's another one.”

The boy picked it up and gave it to Naruto. 

“They might be a sign”, Naruto said.

“Sign”, the boy repeated. He had spotted a third cone already and headed towards it. Some children must have played a game that included laying trails, Naruto thought. He enjoyed himself: going on a walk with the boy had turned out a lot of fun. 

Slowly they went on to the place where they were supposed to feed the ducks. Naruto had been given some old bread, and now he gave some of it to the little boy, and both of them broke off crumbs from it. Soon the ducks came out of the river to pick up the crumbs, one after the other, quacking loudly and demanding more food. For Naruto it was fun: he teased the ducks, throwing crumbs at different places so that the ducks had to turn around. They got confused, never knowing where to expect the next crumb. 

The little boy however was overchallenged. The ducks were quacking angrily at him as he did not feed them as quickly as he should (in their opinion) and the boldest were threatening to take the whole piece of bread out of his hands. The boy was scared and began to cry. Naruto picked him up and tried to comfort him: 

“Don't cry!”, he said. “They won't hurt you. I'll protect you.”

He shouted at the ducks and threatened them and they fled back into the river, but the boy kept crying, no matter how often Naruto told him that the ducks had gone. He was relieved when Sasuke arrived to call him and the boy for lunch. He took the boy on his arms and asked Naruto what had happened. 

“We got attacked by a couple of ducks”, Naruto said, but when Sasuke raised his brows he knew that this had been a mistake.

“I did protect him”, he said. “It's not my fault he's still crying.”

The boy had calmed down almost immediately after Sasuke had taken him. Sasuke did not even have to say anything, just “there's no ducks” in a matter-of-fact way. Naruto felt envious and hurt, as he had no idea what he did wrong and Sasuke did right. Sasuke knew how parents dealt with their kids, and he didn't...

The two mothers comforted Naruto. “You'll learn it when you look after him more often. And with your own kids, they'll trust you more than anyone else, and they will come to you for comfort and protection.”


	96. Chapter Ninety-Three: Moving Out

It turned out that being an officially recognized refugee and aspiring citizen of Music Town was not pure bliss: The patroness of the restaurant had never paid taxes for Sasuke and Naruto, and she had not paid them the legal minimum wages. Now she was required to pay the difference in one go, along with taxes and a fine. It was not easy for her, as her calculations had been based on employing the boys without taxes and paying them wages far below what was considered appropriate in Music Town. She felt hurt, and for about a quarter of an hour she shouted at Sasuke and Naruto (mostly at Sasuke) and accused them of being stupid and ungrateful. Sasuke should have made up some story about money he had inherited and brought to Music Town instead of reporting her to the authorities and betraying her for all she had done both for him and Naruto, giving them jobs when they needed money and a place to stay at.

Sasuke listened. He felt confused, and hurt too. He had thought that he was doing the right thing when he told the truth to the woman who had filled out his application for refugee status and citizenship, and now he was told that it had been all wrong. Naruto felt hurt too – he was particularly hurt by the woman's accusations of betrayal, even though they were directed at Sasuke, not at him. The patroness had really been friendly and helpful, and they had got her into trouble. 

The guy from Earth Country finally cut off the woman's rant: “They didn't betray you – you betrayed them.”

(He had accompanied his partner who had been needed when a man from the administration had come to the restaurant to investigate Sasuke's financial situation.) 

“You exploited their situation of helplessness and ignorance. You made a huge profit on them. They didn't know our laws, but you should have known them. You might have got them into serious trouble too, if they weren't minors. Now they know about the law, and they have decided to abide by the law. You should do the same.”

Sasuke felt a bit comforted. He wanted to abide to the law, even though the law of Music Town seemed to be a pretty complicated affair, much more complicated than just “don't murder”. They took it for granted that people were not allowed to murder, so they had time to make up more complicated laws, he thought.

Naruto felt differently. “These are your laws”, he said. “But we are ninja. We are loyal to those who employ us.”

He had managed to silence everyone for a few seconds. “I've heard that ninja insist on adequate payment”, the guy from Earth Country finally said, making both Sasuke and Naruto think about their situation. They had never given much thought to money: as children they had accepted what they had been given by the authorities of Konoha, as genin and now in Music town they had accepted what they had been given as wages without caring whether these wages were adequate or not. People here were really different, they realized. 

“Real loyalty goes both ways”, the man continued. “Adequate work for adequate payment.”

Sasuke thought about Itachi. For him, loyalty had not gone two ways. He had been required to sacrifice himself, and he hadn't got anything in return. 

The consequence of the whole affair was that both Sasuke and Naruto lost their jobs. The guy from Earth Country tried to convince the patroness that it was in her own interest to keep them as they were both experienced waiters by now, and also because the administration had now an eye on her so that she could not employ any fugitives for less than minimum wages in the near future. 

She did not listen: She was too much hurt to act rationally. She also told the boys to find a new place, and it took the guy from Earth Country quite some effort to persuade her to let the boys stay for a few weeks to give them time to find something else. 

Naruto was crazy: not at the patroness, but at Sasuke, but he tried not to show it. He had been happy with his situation. He had enjoyed working as a waiter, talking to the guests, recommending food to them and occasionally making fun of them, even finding some friends among them, though not very close ones. He had not minded the lack of money as he did not need much, and also, being the heir of Icha-Icha, he was a rich man who needed a job just to keep him from getting bored. He resented leaving the small apartment he had inhabited with Sasuke for several months now, the apartment that had always made him think of Jiraiya. He was crazy because again Sasuke's actions had consequences that concerned him, Naruto, too.

Another consequence was that he, Naruto, had to apply for acceptance as a refugee too. It simply could not be avoided – too many officials in Music Town knew now about his existence. Luckily he had brought some valid papers from Konoha, so it was easier for him than for Sasuke, and no one had to check back at the embassy of Fire Country to confirm his identity. Still he would have preferred to remain hidden, waiting for the right moment to return to Konoha. Applying for official documents made his stay permanent. 

He tried not to show his annoyance. He sensed that Sasuke was overchallenged with the sudden changes in their life, too: Suddenly being without job, without money and soon without a place to stay at. Contrary to Naruto the loss of his job hurt him financially: the money he had been given as a compensation for not receiving wages below the minimum level would last for some weeks, not more, and moving to another place was expensive too.

He asked his grown-up friends to help him looking for a new job, but they told him to focus on the entrance test for the police. “That's your future”, they said. 

They made arrangements for him, negotiating a deal with the training center and with local authorities with the result that provided he was accepted by the training center he would be granted a monthly allowance of money he could live on – more than the wage of a regular trainee who still lived with his parents, but less than he had earned as a waiter (or barista, as he had preferred to call his job.)

Naruto watched these negotiations, and he saw that they all went over Sasuke's head and that he really needed his guardians, not only for signing forms but also for negotiating all these complicated arrangements. He felt that Sasuke was not happy with his situation: he had always insisted on his independence and on being responsible for himself and his decisions. It was his own fault of course. He had applied for citizenship, and for this he was required to name a pair of guardians. 

Naruto tried to discuss this with Sasuke when they lay in bed: “How can you put up with all these people who take decisions on your behalf?”

“They mean well”, Sasuke replied. “They do their best to ensure that I don't get lost between the rules of Music Town.”

“Kakashi meant well too. But you would not have listened to him.” 

“These people accept my aims. They try to help me achieve them. Kakashi did not accept my aim of avenging my clan. He pretended to help me, but in reality he didn't.”

“He did not accept it because he meant well, too. He wanted you happy and alive.”

“That's not enough.”

“Our friends here would also forbid you to set out from Music Town and go to Konoha to take revenge against Danzou.”

Sasuke considered it. “No, probably they wouldn't. We'll have to wait until we are eighteen. It's not much more than a year.”

He snuggled against Naruto and rested his head on Naruto's chest. “People here truly care”, he said. “They don't try to use me, and they are honest and don't betray me.”

Naruto caressed his hair and his shoulders. Sasuke had changed, he thought: he accepted people's love and he no longer lived only in the past – he sought a future for himself, a future that included Naruto but not necessarily Konoha. He kissed Sasuke's neck: he enjoyed feeling protective of Sasuke. 

He protected him in another way, too: he took charge of looking for a new place, as Sasuke was busy studying for his exam. He was now the first to have a look into the newspapers in the morning, and he decided where they should go and have a look at the place. Again, their grown-up friends decided to come too, and they looked at details Sasuke and Naruto had no idea about, as the quality of the heating system or the windows. 

“We can manage ourselves”. Naruto said. “We are almost grown-up, not six or seven. And actually we have managed to live on our own since we were seven.”

“This just means that you've never had anyone to teach how to do this probably. And you are not sufficiently grown-up to live on your own: Our own young people, when they are at your age, still live with their parents, and when they move out at the age of twenty or twenty-one they accept their parents' help and advice. So you accept our help and advice, too.”

The boys were silenced. Actually they learnt a lot from their friends, and a lot of their advice made sense, they just resented that they were not allowed to decide for themselves. Luckily, however, the grown-up people disagreed quite often, meaning that in the end the boys could choose for themselves.

With the help of their friends they moved their possessions. They didn't own much, and most of all they didn't own any furniture except Sasuke's shrine, and the cardboard boxes they had been able to fill were fewer in number than the people who had come to help. It was lucky because Suigetsu was still not able to carry anything heavy but had just come to eat the sandwiches Naruto had prepared, and Killerbee, who had come with Suigetsu, found Sasuke's katana on the cupboard and decided that this was what he would carry. His girl-friend, on the other hand, carried Sasuke's shrine with one of the young women from the riverside. 

Sasuke and Naruto were not allowed to carry anything either - “you organize us and tell us where to put the boxes” the guy from Earth Country said, but when they arrived at their new place other people took charge again. Most of all the women (Killerbee's girl-friend, two women from the riverside, and Karin) soon got into a discussion about how to decorate the room and where to put the various items of furniture Sasuke and Naruto still had to buy. Both boys confined themselves to listening: Sasuke with interest, Naruto with horror. The idea of buying furniture reminded him that people took it for granted that he was here to stay. 

Soon his guests' chatter turned into some background noise and he had time to think about the changes in his own life. Less than half a year ago he had still been a ninja in Konoha, and now he was making huge progress on his way to becoming an ordinary citizen of Music Town, living in an ordinary flat in an ordinary partnership, looking for an ordinary job. He was not happy about these changes. 

But also, a few months ago, his heart had craved for Sasuke, who had become a faint memory, not much more than a dream and a vague feeling that his life was incomplete. Now Sasuke was sitting with him in their new flat, explaining to the husband of the guy from Earth Country and some people from the riverside that he planned to buy traditional furniture as he wanted the flat to look like the house of his parents in Konoha. Their eyes met, and Naruto changed places and sat down next to Sasuke, leaning against him. Again the conversation turned into some background nose, while he, Naruto, followed his own trail of thoughts: Maybe he, Naruto, should choose a career himself, and consign himself to life in Music Town, a life with Sasuke whom he loved. 

It was only when the guy from Earth Country asked Juugo about his age that Naruto returned to the present: 

“I don't know”, he heard Juugo's answer. “I was turned away by my people when I was very little, and then I was taken prisoner by Orochimaru. I don't know anything about my life before that, or about my original identity, except my name.”

“I ask because when I was a child myself there was a story in the newspaper about a boy who had vanished from the Hidden Village of Rock. It was never clear whether he had been abducted or turned out of the village. He was called Juugo, too. But he must be a few years older than you're now.”


	97. Chapter Ninety-Four: Letters to the Kages

The money the patroness had given Sasuke as compensation for not paying minimum wages for several months would last for several weeks, enough to bridge the gap until (hopefully) he could start his training as a policeman, but not enough to pay his share for the furniture he and Naruto needed to buy. Naruto told him that he was rich enough to pay for both of them, but Sasuke did not like the idea: he didn't want to depend on Naruto. His grown-up friends confirmed him in this position, saying that financial dependency was a strain on every relationship, and they offered to lend him some money, but he didn't want to depend on them either. Instead he went to the bank where he had opened an account and asked them for help with gaining access to the money his family had deposited in various ninja countries. 

It turned out to be a difficult affair – first because Sasuke did not have any valid documents (he didn't even know the names of the various banks where his family had their money) and second because the clan's bank accounts had been frozen after his defection from Konoha.

“I am no longer a rogue nin”, he said, “and I want to get them unfrozen again.”

The woman at the bank had a look at the documents he provided, most of all his preliminary acceptance as a citizen of Music Town. 

“I'm afraid there's not much I can do for you”, she said. “We can help you ask the banks of Music Town whether your family had an account there, but with unfreezing the accounts in other places you have to apply to the administrations of the respective countries.” 

She did what she could: She fetched some forms that were needed to apply for unfreezing the accounts in Music Town, helped him fill them in and made copies of his personal documents. 

“We'll contact the other banks here”, she said. “It will take a while, but I don't see any problems, as you've already been accepted as a future citizen. But with foreign countries you will have to write to them yourself.” 

She still did what she could to help him, bringing him lists of international banks and lists of addresses of the ministries that were in charge of granting or denying him his wish to get his accounts unfrozen. Sasuke looked at the lists in sheer horror – a lot of work was waiting for him. He had a closer look and then returned the list of banks of Fire Country and the address of the ministry back to the woman. 

“I don't think it makes sense to apply to Fire Country”, he said. “They won't lift my status as a rogue nin, or unfreeze my family's bank account.”

“Don't be so sure”, the woman answered. “I've heard of disagreements between Danzou and the Daimyou.” 

Sasuke hadn't.

“Well, I guess it's easier to start with the other countries. Write to the governments and get their consent, then we'll help you transfer the money to your account here.”

Sasuke left, his heart heavy. He had got used to dealing with officials in Music Town, but writing to the governments of other countries was another level. He decided to start with Wind Country, as he knew that Naruto was friends with Gaara, the Kazekage.

“You can do me a favour and write to him and ask him for his support at getting my money unfrozen”, he said. 

Naruto agreed. He was glad that Sasuke, even though he did not accept his money, still accepted his help. He sat down to write his letter: 

Dear Gaara!

I want to thank you for sending my letters to Sakura and for making sure that her letters reach me in Music Town. I'm doing well: Music Town is a good place to live at, but I still miss Konoha. What's best, however, is the fact that Sasuke is here too. We're friends now, and we're lovers. 

Naruto had hesitated for a few seconds before he had written the last sentence: He still felt embarrassed about the nature of his relationship to Sasuke, not in Music Town, but when it came to people in the ninja countries. 

He has asked me to ask you to ask the daimyou to unfreeze his bank accounts. We need the money to buy some furniture. Sasuke is no longer a rogue-nin, so his accounts can be unfrozen without risk. He has applied for citizenship of Music Town, but I don't think he'll ever achieve it. For citizenship in Music Town he needs to learn a musical instrument, and when it comes to music he's a hopeless case who can't tell country from folk or ordinary pop. He's not even interested in the differences. As long as the music is not too noisy he's content.

Even though he'll probably never be accepted as a citizen he has already been recognzied as a fugitive, and he's determined to stay in Music Town and not become a rogue nin again. Maybe it's a trick, but I don't think so, and anyway I have an eye on him and see that he doesn't run away again. I'll make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid, so I don't see any problems in unfreezing his bank accounts. 

I hope that you and your family are doing well., most of all Temari of course. How long will it take now till the little kid is born? 

Always your friend, Naruto. 

He gave the letter to Sasuke, who felt hurt, but tried not to show it. At least Naruto had stood by him and called him his lover, he thought. He wrote some lines of his own, however, asking Gaara for his support and telling him that he really had ended his relationship with Orochimaru (by killing him) and that he intended to live as a honourable citizen of Music Town, and he also wrote to the Daimyou of Wind Country. 

Sasuke also met Suigetsu to ask him for advice about the political situation in Water Country and about whom to ask for support, and about who was in charge of deciding about his bank accounts. He hoped that Suigetsu himself might be the one who spoke on his behalf. 

Suigetsu thought long before he answered. 

“I'm a citizen of Music Town now. I've cut my ties with Water Country and Mist Village. I don't even carry my sword with me any more. When I write in your behalf I'll be told to return.”

“They can't force you.” 

“They can't. But if I try to make use of my old connections in order to help you they will try to use them to make me return.”

“Isn't there anyone who's not a connection but simply a friend, someone who might be glad to hear that you are still alive?”

Suigetsu shook his head. “Mist Village is different from Konoha. In Konoha kids grow up in their families, and when they become genin they are put into teams. Konoha makes use of their feelings of comradeship to make them fight more bravely. Mist Village however purposely destroys bonds of friendship, setting up the students to fight each other. They make use of people's loneliness to make them fight more bravely for Mist Village, as they have nothing else to fight for.”

Sasuke listened and thought of Itachi. 

“I don't know whether this is true for all their fighters, but it's how they raise their elite ninja. They are taken from their families when they are very small and sent back only if they fail, provided they are still alive. The family won't welcome them, however, but regard them as failures, according to what I've heard.”

Sasuke had his doubts. 

“I wasn't sent back, and my brother wasn't either. He died as a hero of the Mist. He was ten years older than me, and I hardly knew him, as he had left the family when I was very small. At parades my parents pointed him out to me.”

“I knew my brother”, Sasuke said. “He carried me around when I was little.”

“You were lucky then.” 

Sasuke had never considered it. Maybe he was lucky indeed compared to Suigetsu. 

“I liked being with you. Karin was annoying, but she was also funny, and Juugo was far less crazy than people said he was. He's doing well now, isn't he?” 

Sasuke confirmed it. 

“And people here – I have a band now, and there's no question of killing each other, or of killing anyone else. We make music, after all, and you don't kill other musicians, even if their music is really bad.” 

“You still may write to your parents. At the gay community center there's people who support gay boys who've run away from home and who want to re-establish contact with their parents. Maybe they can help you too.”

“I don't need the support of any gay people”, Suigetsu replied. 

So Sasuke wrote to the Mizukage and the daimyou of Water Country all by himself without any support from anyone. Maybe this was preferable to a letter from Suigetsu. 

Writing to the Raikage without a letter from Killerbee was impossible, however. Sasuke felt uncomfortable seeking him out and asking him to do him a favour after what he had done to him, but there was no other way. Killerbee's reception of his request was friendly, but he had difficulties to understand it. 

“Why can't you write to my brother just by yourself?” he asked. “I've already told him that your attack was just a fake, and he has withdrawn the international arrest warrant. Just tell him that you need some money. You can tell him in person, by the way: in a few weeks he'll visit Music Town to listen to my first concert in Old Town's Club.” 

Even Sasuke had heard of the place: It was the second biggest and second most famous concert hall of Music Town. Only Central Club was bigger, but that was for tourists.

“I need access to my family's money now”, Sasuke replied, “and I can't write to your brother when you don't speak for me.”

“You can”, Killerbee said. “My brother is just like me, very relaxed. But if it makes you feel more at ease, I will help you.” 

He sat down to write a few lines and gave them to Sasuke.

My dear brother, 

The young man to whom I owe my present happiness, Uchiha Sasuke, is in need of money as he has lost his job. I'd be glad if you could help him out.

With love, 

your brother who's the happiest man of the world now, save that he misses you. 

He'd have to write a letter of his own, and to do a lot of explaining, Sasuke thought. 

“How's your lover, the jinchuuriki?” Killerbee asked. “Does he still want to learn to control his bijuu, or is he no longer interested in having sex with you without fear of the kyuubi taking over?” 

The question was painful to Sasuke, as it reminded him that while he and Naruto still had sex Naruto didn't let go as he used to, and the kyuubi didn't have a chance of taking over.

“I'll talk to him”, he said. “Not having to be afraid of the kyuubi is one of the greatest desires of his heart.” 

Killerbee grinned widely. “I hope to see you soon”, he said. “I expected you much earlier, actually. I thought you wanted to have sex without worrying about the kyuubi as soon as possible.” 

Sasuke thanked him, both for his letter to his brother and for his renewed offer of help to Naruto. He then went home to write to the Raikage and the daimyou of Lightning Country, and also to the Tsuchikage and the daimyou of Earth Country, then he took everything to his new guardian so that he might sign the official forms. The man added a lot of corrections to the letters, so that Sasuke had to rewrite them. He didn't touch Naruto's letter to Gaara, or Killerbee's letter to the Raikage, however.

“It's not my job to tell people what they should write to their brothers and friends”, he said. “But you should have come earlier, so that I could have given you some advice. That's my job, after all. It would have saved you a lot of work.” 

Sasuke didn't answer. He felt the loss of his independence. 

“Also I wonder whether this is a wise move. Everyone will take notice of you now. But I guess that you don't have much choice: you need your money now.” 

He signed the forms.

“Good luck – I hope that your requests will be granted and that your name will be cleared.” 

Naruto listened when Sasuke told him about his efforts for getting access to his family's bank accounts, but he didn't accompany him to the bank or to his various meetings with other people, most of all because Sasuke hadn't invited him to join him. It was Sasuke's money, and Sasuke's wish for financial independence. 

He felt bored these days. Losing his job meant that suddenly he had a lot of time at his disposal, and unpacking the cardboard boxes and buying furniture was not enough to fill it. Sasuke prolonged absences when he pursued his aim of unfreezing his bank accounts were not helpful either, and even when Sasuke was at home he wasn't good company: Most of the time he sat at their new table and studied for the entrance exam at the training center of the police. Naruto sensed how the strain on Sasuke was increasing as the date drew closer: The problems in Sasuke's book were much more difficult than he had expected, and contrary to the chuunin exam you were expected not to cheat but to solve them by yourself. Often Sasuke was on the point of despairing: then he shut the book with a loud noise. 

“Who needs all this stuff? Worded Problems! When does a policeman need to solve worded problems?” he would then exclaim. 

Then Naruto would come and lay his arms around Sasuke's shoulders and lead him to the sofa. (They had bought one by now.) They cuddled and made out for some time, or Naruto massaged Sasuke's shoulders, and then he offered to make him some cocoa (never coffee, as this just increased the stress) and led him back to the desk. Just like Naruto Sasuke was not the type to give up easily, even though sometimes he wanted to throw the book against the wall. Juugos fostermothers advised him to take a break when he got stuck, a piece of advice that was new to Sasuke, but he followed the advice, or rather Naruto saw that he followed it.

Still watching Sasuke study for his exam was not fulfilling to Naruto, even though he enjoyed the responsibility of taking care that Sasuke neither overdid nor gave up. It involved long times of doing nothing, and so Naruto returned to his former project: learning about the religion of the Rikudo. He had learnt enough about foreign religions by now, and he wanted to know more about the religion he should have been raised in, if he had been raised properly. He got some books from the library (Sasuke registered them for him), and he no longer chose those for children, or books that consisted mainly of pictures. Learning about foreign religions had improved his understanding of religious concepts, and he felt ready for the Rikudo's more complicated ideas. Most of all he longed to learn about the Rikudo's ideas about how to create peace, and he hoped that these ideas were of a kind that would be taken seriously by the sceptical people of Music Town. 

So while Sasuke was facing the challenges of worded problems and logic puzzles Naruto was reading, and with time his efforts were rewarded: he found ideas that went beyond “peace is better than war” and “cooperation is better than fighting.”


	98. Chapter Ninety-Five: Inner Peace

Naruto spoke to Juugo's fostermothers about what he learnt from the books about the Rikudo, and they suggested to him that he might visit the main temple of Music Town, which was nominally still a ninshuu temple. 

“It's mainly a tourists' attraction now,” they told him, “but there's also priests who work there, and they may have answers to some of your questions.”

Naruto decided to follow their advice – he still preferred talking to people to reading books, and also he had a lot of time now. He asked Sasuke to accompany him, and Sasuke agreed, even though he did not have much time as he was supposed to study for the entrance test. He had not been interested in the foreign religions Naruto had explored in Music Town, but being a ninja too he took an interest in the origins of ninjutsu. 

They had passed the temple many times, as it was only at five minutes' distance from the place they lived at (their new place too), but apart from the first time, when Naruto had played the tourists' guide for Sasuke, they had never entered it. Again they were surprised by comparative darkness, as the temple only had very small windows, and the most important source of light were innumerable candles. Even the tourists' groups, including those from the foreign countries, lowered their voices, impressed by the temple's atmosphere. 

The boys went around, looking at altars and trying to avoid the tourists' groups. Most altars were for the Goddess of Peace and Mercy, and they found a small, unspectacular one without artistic merit and consequently without tourists where they lit candles for her. For a while they stood in silence.

“They consecrated the temple to her after the Second Ninja World War,” Naruto said. “They no longer cared about the ancient warrior gods.”

They do care about peace here, he thought, even though they don't appreciate the Gutsy Ninja. 

“Let's look for a priest,” he said. 

In the temple's entrance area there were books and brochures with information both on the temple's artwork and the Goddess of Peace and Mercy. They took some brochures that were for free and read what they said about the symbolism of the statues of the Goddess, then they asked the people behind the booths whether they could tell them more about their religion. 

People declined, saying that they were not fit to explain everything correctly, but they pointed out a priest to them: He didn't wear any special clothes, as the monks in the ninja countries did, but his behaviour distinguished him from the tourists: Leaning against a pillar he was watching what happened around him. He noticed Naruto and Sasuke as they approached him and stood upright to welcome them. 

“We'd like to talk to you about your religion,” Naruto began, as he had in various religious communities of Music Town, then he departed from his script. “Actually it's our religion too. We're ninja, and we should have learnt about ninshuu, but no one has ever taught us anything.”

“You're ninja? Then you should know about ninjutsu, shouldn't you, or you wouldn't be proper ninja.”

“We can do ninjutsu,” Naruto said, “but we don't know anything about ninshuu, the religion that was originally founded by the Rikudo.”

“Ninshuu is just an old-fashioned name for ninjutsu. But we in Music Town don't practise it any more. What you see here is all superficial. But we can talk if you want – my shift will be over in twenty minutes, then we can meet in my office.”

People were all the same in Music Town, Sasuke thought. Whatever their actual job, they all had schedules and offices. And he was becoming one of them, he realized, spending several hours a day behind his desk studying for the entrance exam.

In the priest's office they were offered some coffee, then Naruto repeated their request.

“We want to learn about ninshuu, and about the Rikudo,” he said. “We were taught ninjutsu as if it were a set of techniques for figthing, but we don't know anything about the Rikudo's religious teachings, or his ideas about peace.”

The priest took some time before he answered.

“As I've said, people in Music Town don't practise this religion any more either. My colleagues and I try to preserve the tradition, meditating at least once a day, and more often when we find time, but there's only few laypeople who do the same.”

“But there's the Goddess of Peace, isn't there? People pray to her and light candles for her. We did too.”

“People light candles, but when they pray they only pray for themselves. They've become all selfish, and they've become petty merchants: I give you a candle, you grant me a wish. They only think of themselves and their own affairs: Passing an exam, recovering from an illness, hoping that some business plan turns out well. It's got nothing to do with the true spirit of ninshuu.”

“But it's still about peace,” Naruto insisted. “She's the Goddess of Peace after all.”

“They say so, but they say so without thinking about it. They've ceased to care about peace.”

Maybe he was right, Naruto thought. People here took peace for granted, so they didn't appreciate it.

“But you yourself and your colleagues know about the real thing,” he said. “You know about the Rikudo's dream of peace, even though most people in Music Town no longer care about it.”

The priest hesitated before he answered. “Actually it's one of the most misunderstood concepts of the Rikudo. People tend to think of peace as the absence of war, most of all the absence of war between nations. But there's a lot of other concepts of peace, and the most important of them, the one the Rikudo really had in mind, is the concept of inner peace and living in harmony with the universe. When you've found inner peace it no longer matters whether there's peace in the outside world or not. You've learnt to accept whatever happens, and it won't affect your own peace of mind.”

“But the killing in the outside world will go on,” Sasuke said. He had been reserved against religion since the murder of his clan; during Naruto's research on religions in Music Town his reservations had grown, and hearing the priest's words he felt fully confirmed in his scepticism now.

“You need to learn acceptance,” the priest said. “Then you'll understand that everything is part of the great whole, and that everything that happens has a purpose in the greater scheme of the universe.”

“But the Rikudo didn't want people to kill each other either,” Naruto said. “He wanted peace.” 

“When you've found inner peace you'll be at peace with other people too,” the priest replied. “That's the true meaning of his teachings. Outward peace comes into being when people find peace in themselves. You should know this, actually, being ninja. Don't you meditate on a regular basis in order to forge chakra?” 

“We do,” Naruto answered. He began to feel ill at ease. 

“So you should know the peace that comes with meditating and realizing there isn't any boundary between yourself and the outside world. You should know the power that comes from acting in accordance with nature.”

“Partly,” Naruto answered. He remembered his sennin training. “I have learnt to contact nature and merge her chakra with my own. But I only learnt to use it for fighting.”

“You use it for fighting and you use it to create peace. But when you're one with the universe it will all be the same, nothing you do can be wrong and nothing will hurt you.”

Naruto grew restless. Obviously the priest didn't have any answers to the question that had haunted him since Jiraiya's death: how to create peace, and stop people from killing each other.

“I've read a book with legends about the Rikudo,” he said. “Practically every story ended with him telling people to cooperate and live in peace.”

“Legends are for children, and for the uneducated,” the priest said. “We teach ninshuu to grown-up people. We give meditation classes for those who want to stay true to the old tradition, or who want to rediscover it. You're invited to join. Not that you need them, or course. Maybe you can teach us something yourselves.”

“We'll consider it,” Naruto replied, getting up. The priest was just like anyone else in Music Town: Taking peace for granted he didn't know what it meant when the actual killing stopped. Looking for inner peace seemed a project for people who had never seen war. 

Sasuke followed Naruto, glad to leave the priest's office. The temple itself no longer seemed peaceful to him, nor did it calm him down, and the Goddess of Peace seemed to mock him. He welcomed the bright daylight outside the temple with all his heart. 

(Some days later he lighted another candle for the Goddess of Peace. It was not her fault that the priest's words had been stupid.)

Naruto was thoughtful too: he remembered his time with the toads. There he had learnt to feel the chakra of nature, and to use it for fighting. No doubt the toads were convinced that he was acting in accordance with the universe. He himself was not so sure about it. 

“I've learnt the kind of meditation the priest spoke about,” he said. “It gave me a huge chakra boost, but it didn't help me find inner peace.” He took Sasuke's hand. “Finding you gave me peace,” he said. “But being far away from Konoha prevents me from being truly at peace.” 

Sasuke considered his words. “My family won't come back to life, so I don't think I'll ever find peace,” he said. 

Naruto laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulders, feeling pity for him.

“I can show you the meditation technique I've learnt,” he said. “Maybe it can really help find inner peace, if one does it with this intention, not with the intention of becoming a stronger fighter.”

(Naruto was not hundred percent certain whether offering Sasuke to teach him one of his most powerful techniques was a good idea: He had always enjoyed the idea that his senjutsu was something he could do and Sasuke couldn't. Still his pity gained the upper hand.)

Sasuke accepted. Even though his first reaction to the priest's words had been to refute them they still had made an impression to him. Maybe he was all wrong refusing to find inner peace, and insisting that he didn't need to be in harmony with the universe. Maybe he should let go off his pride and be ready to accept peace. 

So when they arrived at their place Naruto showed Sasuke what he had learnt during his Sennin training: entering a state of perfect immobility and letting nature's chakra enter him. Sasuke had learnt to meditate as part of his ninja training, of course, but he had never been good at it. He had mainly seen it as a means to the end of forging chakra, meaning that he had not let his thoughts come to a rest but that he had focused on his chakra. Now for the first time in his life he was meditating for the sake of meditating, and he realized that this was on a whole different level than anything he had done before: Not just being physically immobile, but also not following any of his thoughts and not focussing on anything but letting his thoughts pass his mind and being open to nature itself. 

It took him several attempts. Naruto comforted him: “Don't worry, I didn't manage the first time either.”

Sasuke tried again, sitting quietly without thinking of anything, trying to feel the universe around him and be one with it. This time he managed partly – the line between him and the rest of the word became permeable – he could feel nature's chakra – then he broke off. He had finally fallen into the abyss he had avoided for so long.

Naruto only saw that Sasuke was breathing quickly and flatly, that he was covering his eyes with his hands, that his body had lost its tension. He knew that something had gone wrong – he feared that Sasuke might turn into a frog. He hugged him as he had no idea what else he might do, and slowly Sasuke's breathing rhythm got normal again. 

“What happened?” Naruto asked. 

“I managed – partly. I could feel the universe outside me. I could hear its voice. It told me that it was better off without me – it told me that I should give up my aims and my memories and my personailty as it didn't need them. It was better off if I just merged with the rest of it – if I died.”

Naruto held him tightly. “I need you,” he said. “Even if the universe doesn't need you – I do.”


	99. Chapter Ninety-Six: Woman and Monster

Naruto's words gave some comfort to Sasuke: enough to fall asleep, enough to get up the next morning, yet hardly enough to sit down again to study for the entrance test and face the challenges of worded problems and logical puzzles. It was useless after all: he would not join the police, but be sent to prison, and the best solution would be to deliver himself to the Raikage, to tell him the truth about his attack against Killerbee and accept just punishment, meaning death. 

He didn't do it – he couldn't while Naruto sat in two metres' distance on the sofa, reading, watching him and telling him to work when Sasuke put away his pencil for too long. He also made cocoa and laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulders more often than normal. Sasuke was grateful for the limited comfort Naruto's tenderness offered to him, but it did not restore his former vigour to stand up against the universe and the book he studied with and insist on his and his family's right to exist.

He was less grateful that Naruto did not have any inhibitions at all about telling other people what had happened to Sasuke. Luckily Sasuke was silent and introvert even on ordinary days, so that only his closer friends, in whose company he was more talkative than with strangers, noticed the change and asked him about it. 

“He meditated and got in contact with the universe,” Naruto answered while Sasuke was still searching for words, “and the universe told him that it didn't need him.”

He said this as if it was the most natural message one could expect from the universe. People caught the horror all the same. 

“That's rubbish,” the husband of the guy from Earth Country said. “Don't believe it. Of course the universe needs you.”

He laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulder, and this time Naruto did not get jealous. Sasuke needed whatever comfort people would give him. 

Their friends at the riverside also noticed that Sasuke was more silent than on other days. (With them, he was normally more talkative than with his gay friends, mostly because their conversations were of a different nature: less football and gossip, more politics.) Naruto told them too that Sasuke had meditated and that the universe had told him that it did not need him. 

“Why do you meditate then if you get such stupid messages?” one of the young men asked.

“Naruto meditates, and I wanted to give it a try.”

“So now you've tried it, and next time you tell the universe that you don't need it either.”

Sasuke smiled faintly. Refuting the universe was what he used to do, and it gave him some satisfaction to hear that other people took a similar position.

“Anyway, there's no such thing as a universe,” another young man added. “There's people and trees and mountains, but the universe as a whole is just an abstraction, not a person who may talk nonsense to you. A mere philosophical concept.”

“I'd rather call it a religious concept,” one of the young women contradicted him, and soon they were engaged in a theoretical discussion Sasuke did not take any interest in. 

Juugo's fostermothers reacted in a different way. “You must have made some mistakes when you meditated,” they told him. “If you do it correctly you will feel that you are part of the universe, complete with your personality, and just as indispensable as anyone else, because without you, something would be missing. You should give it another try: maybe you should ask someone else than Naruto to teach you.”

Sasuke was determined not to do this. 

“Have you ever meditated?” he asked.

“I once participated in a weekend seminar given by your friend,” she answered. “The young woman, Karin.”

Sasuke knew that Karin taught ninja techniques, mostly medical ninjutsu, to the local women, but he had not suspected any connection between her and Juugo's fostermothers.

“I liked it, and I wanted to practise regularly, but I just don't get around to it.”

“Then how do you know that the universe needs me?” Sasuke asked.

“It's common sense. You don't need to meditate to know this.”

She meant well, Sasuke concluded, but she had no idea about what the universe wanted. 

“It's understandable that you feel a bit useless, now that you have lost your job,” the woman continued. “It will get better once you've been accepted by the police. Just don't lose courage and keep studying.”

Sasuke decided to return to Naruto and discuss his doubts with him. Naruto meditated himself, so he should know. 

“Do you feel that you are an indispensable part of the universe when you meditate?” he asked. 

Naruto thought about it. “I don't know. It wasn't my intention to feel that I'm part of the universe when I learnt this. I wanted to get in touch with nature's chakra, so that I could use it to become stronger and defeat Pain, that's all.”

“Do you think the universe needs me?” 

Again Naruto had to think. When he had been training to learn his sennin jutsu he had not thought much of Sasuke at all, mostly because he had been busy mourning Jiraiya at the time, but also because at Toad Mountain there was no place for Sasuke, or even talk about Sasuke. In Konoha too people rarely spoke of him. He was not needed there, nor had anyone ever missed his clan.

A universe without Sasuke was realistic and conceivable. All that would remain was a hole in his heart. 

“I need you,” he said again. “I don't care whether the universe needs you.”

Sasuke felt partly comforted. His eyes fell on the photo that showed him with his family: Formerly he had thought that they needed him to avenge him. He had been certain that they'd be proud of him if they knew that he was going to join the police and thus continue their tradition. But now he had lost trust even that they had been needed by the universe. Maybe the accusations against them had not been unfounded. Maybe they had indeed tried to do something wrong.

“Maybe you should indeed give it another try,” Naruto said, interrupting Sasuke's train of thought. “I had to learn to work around the Kyuubi too.” 

The kyuubi and Sasuke, he thought. These two did not have a place in Konoha, or with the toads, or with meditating. But his love for Sasuke was an integral part of his soul, both when they had been apart and now that they were together. He looked at Sasuke in his distress, and Sasuke's pain was his own. “I need you,” he repeated, and this time Sasuke accepted his embrace.

Naruto's mention of the Kyuubi had reminded Sasuke of Killerbee's renewed offer to teach Naruto to tame it. He told Naruto that he had met Killerbee, and Naruto contacted him and they agreed on a time and, even more importantly, on a place where to meet: A hill at the outskirts of Music Town that had once been used to discard garbage but that was now covered by earth and grass. Some bush grew there, and the first young birches, but people still tended to avoid it as they associated it with garbage. Naruto brought Sasuke to the meeting-place, and Killerbee brought his girl-friend.

“I've told her about you,” he said, “and she suggested that we find a way to have sex too. I've thought about it, and I want to introduce her to the Hachibi, so that both of them learn that they don't have to be afraid of each other.”

The young woman looked expectant, but also tense and a bit worried. 

“I'll change form now,” Killerbee said, now addressing her, not the boys. “The Hachibi looks monstrous, but he isn't a monster. He's friendly and actually quite intelligent. Trust that your love will show, and don't forget that within the Hachibi there's still me.”

The woman smiled faintly: Killerbee's words had not removed her fear.

“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” Naruto asked. “I'd never let out the Kyuubi like that. He'd go on a rampage.”

“The Hachibi has been tamed,” Killrebee replied. “He no longer does this.”

“But you love her. It's far from safe – how can you risk her life in such a way?”

“I want this,” the woman now spoke for herself. “I've asked him to find a way so that we don't have to fear the Hachibi any more, and he told me that he had spoken to the Hachibi and he trusts him not to hurt me, and I trust Killerbee's judgement.”

It was obvious that this was not the whole truth: She still looked scared, but determined. Sasuke could not help admire her: ready to face the Hachibi and relying solely on her love.

“Don't fear,” he said. “If anything goes wrong I'll help you out. I have the power to get a bijuu back under control.”

“You stay in the background,” Killerbee said. “It took me quite an effort to convince the Hachibi to meet you. Because of you he has lost several limbs, and they haven't grown back yet. He hasn't forgiven you.”

Being reminded of his attempt to abduct Killerbee still hurt, but Sasuke knew that he did not have any right to complain. Obediently he retreated to the background. 

Killerbee took a few steps in the other direction and turned into the Hachibi. Sasuke had seen it before, but Naruto and the woman hadn't. In a mixture of horror and fascination they stared at the monster, which remained quietely where it was, laying its head to the ground to indicate that it didn't intend to attack anyone. The woman now left Naruto's side and went towards the Hachibi, and the Hachibi advanced too, very slowly. Naruto joined Sasuke, and together they watched how the woman met the monster: how she kissed and caressed the giant head, and how the Hachibi used its octopus tentacles to caress her back. Naruto leant heavily against Sasuke, taking his arm and laying it around his hips. Watching Killerbee and his girl-friend got aware of a desire he hadn't known to exist: that the monster within him should be loved too. He knew, however, that his was not possible: the Hachibi had been tamed, and the Kyuubi hadn't. 

Sasuke was deeply moved by the scene too, and even though he did not know the exact reason of Naruto's sudden clingyness he felt his need for love and acted accordingly, caressing Naruto's back and drawing him closer.

“We'll manage too,” he said. 

Killerbee turned back into his human form. He looked exhausted, and extremely serious (for his standards.) For several minutes he covered his girl-friend's face with kisses, and she kissed him back. They didn't speak at all. Only when her hands moved down to his hips and began to caress them he realized that this was not the moment to go any further and broke off the embrace. 

“We have time for more later,” he said. “Now I have to instruct the boys.”


	100. Chapter Ninety-Seven: Talk to the Kyuubi

Killerbee dissolved the embrace with his girl-friend and went to join the two boys. 

“You've seen what to aim for,” he said. “Truly taming your bijuu means that you no longer have to be ashamed of it, nor that you fear what it might do to other people. Now tell me: what did people in Konoha teach you?” 

“They taught me to keep it in check and under control,” Naruto answered.

“Nobody tried to teach you how to use it?”

“Jiraiya once did. He taught me how to access the kyuubi's chakra. When he tried to teach me to use the kyuubi itself it got loose and attacked him. With four tails it had gained complete control and I no longer knew what I was doing. Jiraiya was hurt so badly that he was on the brink of dying. From then on I was told not to use the kyuubi but to keep it down, and honestly, if friends die when I use it, I think it's wise to listen to this advice.”

“It still seems a waste to me. I mean, why did they turn you into a jinchuuriki if not to make use of the kyuubi?” 

“I wasn't made a jinchuuriki because they needed a weapon. It was done because it was the only way to get the kyuubi under control when it attacked Konoha.”

“All the same I would have guessed that they still have techniques to use the kyuubi in Konoha. After all they relied heavily on it during the First and Second Ninja World Wars.” 

Naruto had never heard of that. 

“And in Cloud Village they have techniques to use the Hachibi?” 

“They do. But that's not what I'm going to teach you. I am going to teach you a different way to tame it, a way I've developed by myself.”

“What kind of way?” Naruto asked, both curious and impatient. Yet again Killerbee did not give him a straight answer but instead told him his story.

“I got turned into a jinchuuriki at an age that's too young to remember anything,” he said. “But I remember very clearly how I first met the Hachibi, even before anyone told me of its existence. It was on a rainy afternoon, I was bored as no one had time to play with me, so I sat by the window and daydreamt, and in that state of dreaminess it happened that I entered my own soul and found the Hachibi: a huge monster behind bars. I was not afraid, as I had not yet learnt that monsters behind bars are something to be afraid of. Instead I reached out to touch his nose, and talked to him to ask him why he was behind bars, and the Hachibi answered me, and soon we were friends.”

Naruto had not known the kyuubi before people had told him about it. He wondered what would have happened if he had met it by chance, just as Killerbee had: whether he would have made friends with it too, or whether he would have learnt to use it to kill people, as Gaara had. He had been bored quite often at the time, actually – not because people didn't have time but because no one ever played with him. He had often stood by the window and looked outside and hoped that kids would play with him too. His whole body had ached with longing and sadness in those moments but he never begun to daydream, or turned into his own soul.

“When I was considered old enough to get trained as a jinchuuriki I already knew more than people could teach me. Just as with you, people tried to teach me to control my bijuu, how to use his chakra while subduing his personality. I did not care about it – the Hachibi was my friend, so what point was there in subduing his personality? From my teachers I learnt how to change form and how to use non-human chakra as if it were my own, but I never tried to control the Hachibi itself. I soon gained confidence in my skills and in the Hachibi's cooperation, and people told me that I was the most talented jinchuuriki in the history of the Cloud. I loved to scare my teachers by taking risks they considered crazy, but I knew that everything was safe, as the Hachibi had assured me of his cooperation. I never told them of our friendship. You are the first to learn about the secret.”

Sasuke caressed Naruto's hand, proud that he was included. Naruto himself felt weird, overcome by contradictory feelings. On the one hand Killerbee's words gave him hope that one day he, too, would be able to cooperate with the kyuubi and no longer have to be afraid of it. On the other hand he was sad that he had wasted so much time subduing the kyuubi and keeping it in check when he could have made friends with it instead. Also he had difficulties casting away the advice people had given him for all his life: What if there were crucial differences between the Hachibi and the kyuubi that made it possible to tame the former, but not the latter? For all his life he had strived to subdue the kyuubi, and had been proud of his achievements, and letting go of them was not easy. For a moment he considered declining Killerbee's offer and telling him that he thought his path too risky, and that he preferred to stick to what he had learnt in Konoha: to control the kyuubi instead of making friends with it. Then, however, he remembered the woman embracing the Hachibi.

“So let's start,” he said. “What shall I do?” 

“Don't rush,” Killerbee slowed him down again. “I need to figure out your current level, and then decide where to start. Have you ever talked to the kyuubi?” 

“Yes, several times.” 

“You should make it a daily habit.”

Naruto swallowed. For him conversations with the kyuubi were associated with moments of extreme anguish, and talking to it every day would mean that every day he was reminded of these moments.

“What shall I talk about with it?” he asked. 

“Whatever you want. Just connect to the kyuubi. What did you talk to him on other occasions?” 

“Not much,” Naruto admitted. “When Jiraiya still tried to teach me to use it I asked it to lend me its power. After I had stopped doing this the kyuubi began to offer me its power of his own accord, but I had learnt to decline it. It always turned up when I was in a desperate situation, tempting me to accept its help to get out of the situation, but except for a few times I did not give in. I knew that it would gain control over me if I did.”

“So it was all about power and control,” Killerbee said. “That's no foundation for a friendship. So your first exercise will be to go and talk without any specific purpose. Just talk. If you don't know what to talk about tell him about your friend. Tell him he's your friend, and ask the kyuubi not to take over when you lose control during sex.”

“It won't work,” Naruto replied. “Taking over is its greatest desire. It will do everything to trick me into giving up control.”

“Talk to him, and then decide whether you may trust him or not. Now to you...”

He turned to Sasuke. “You'll be his backup. You have to get the kyuubi back under control if things go wrong. Do you trust yourself to do that?” 

“Yes,” Sasuke answered. 

“I don't need a backup,” Naruto said. “I can control the kyuubi by myself.”

“You need to stop controlling the kyuubi, so you need someone else to take control if necessary. Everyone needs a backup – for me was my brother who took this task upon himself. I didn't really need him, as I was friends with the Hachibi already – but it's part of the traditional training of a jinchuuriki in Cloud, so you will accept a backup too. You can trust your friend: he showed he's able to face a bijuu when he fought me.” 

Sasuke bit his lips: Some things weren't forgotten easily. 

“But remember that the kyuubi is still your responsibility. He'll only intervene in case of an emergency. And you” - again he turned to Sasuke – “if you intervene keep in mind that ultimately you need to make friends with the kyuubi too.”

Sasuke nodded. He wanted to look cool and confident, but Naruto saw that he was paler than usual and very serious.

“Now take it slowly,” Killerbee continued. “You're just starting. Only talk – don't make any attempts at removing any seals or otherwise liberating the kyuubi. One day in the future you'll decide that it's time to do this, but today is not that day.” 

Naruto was very serious now too. It was long since he had actually talked to the kyuubi, talked in order to borrow chakra, not drawn into his own soul while the kyuubi had already partly taken over and acted in his stead, while within his soul it was offering its power to him, tempting him to let go and give in to his anger, making this appear the simplest way to deal with the problem at hand. He had been taught to stay clear off this path, to resist the temptation and remain in control of his anger. Now simply talking to the kyuubi seemed strange.

He sat down, closed his eyes, and as intended he soon found himself in front of the kyuubi's cage, The kyuubi had been resting, but it noticed him immediately.   
“So finally you've decided that you want to use my power,” it said. 

Naruto shook his head. “I don't. I don't need it here in Music Town where there's no need for fighting.”

“So what else do you want?” 

This was not going well, Naruto thought. He decided to follow Killerbee's advice and speak openly about his motives. 

“I want to ask you to refrain from turning up whenever I have sex,” he said. 

“Why should I do that?” the kyuubi asked. 

“Because I don't need you then. Having sex is not fighting. I don't need any extra chakra then.”

“You should fight. It's a prefect opportunity to get rid of Sasuke when he's least on the alert.”

“I don't intend to get rid of Sasuke when he's most trusting,” Naruto answered, somewhat annoyed. “I don't want to get rid of him at all.”

“You should reconsider,” the kyuubi replied. “He's your main obstacle to absolute power, after all.” 

The kyuubi withdrew into the the back of its cage. Naruto stayed behind, confused and at a loss. He opened his eyes and was back with Sasuke, Killerbee and Killerbee's girl-friend.

“How did it go?” 

“Not well,” Naruto admitted. “It flatly refused when I asked him not to turn up during sex.”

“But he talked to you when you spoke to him. That's a good result for your first attempt.”

Naruto was not so sure.

“Tomorrow you talk to him again. You'll see, with time he will be more open to what you have to say.”

Naruto didn't feel like it. Even this short conversation with the kyuubi had exhausted him. However when Sasuke seduced him the next morning (having sex was better than studying for the entrance exam) Naruto talked again to the kyuubi before he was ready to engage in more than tender caresses. He talked to it only for a few seconds, just to tell it that he was going to have sex now and that he wouldn't need its chakra. He was conscious of the kyuubi during their whole love-making and his orgasm lacked in intensity compared to other days, as he could not let go as he did normally, but he was better prepared when the kyuubi tried to take over after orgasm, and he was able to talk the kyuubi into withdrawing instead of pushing it back into its cage.

“I could kill him off easily now,” the kyuubi said. “Then you'd be rid of him.”

“I don't want to be rid of him,” Naruto replied. “Actually I enjoy making love to him.”

The kyuubi was crafty and malicious and Naruto doubted that he'd ever be able to cooperate with it. Yet even as it was he was more confident than the day before. Sex was more complicated than without being aware of the kyuubi all the time, and convincing it to withdraw was still difficult, but he no longer feared that he wouldn't manage, which was a huge step. 

When Naruto opened his eyes he saw that Sasuke had been watching him all the time and that his Sharingan was activated.

“You took much longer than on other days,” he said. 

“I talked to it again,” Naruto answered. 

Sasuke caressed his hair and the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks. 

“Next time just warn me.”


	101. Chapter Ninety-Eight: Rules

Finally the day of the entrance test had arrived. Sasuke was extremely nervous – he still had difficulties with calculating percentages. He still considered the whole test stupid and unnecessary, but he was determined to pass it. He was determined to become a policeman in Music Town, according to the rules of Music Town, even if these rules were stupid. 

Naruto accompanied him to the training center and waited with him for the test to begin. For the first time since their visit to the mixed dance school they were together with teenagers of their own age (even the people at the riverside were a few years older), and when Naruto looked around he thought that they all looked childish, the boys even worse than the girls. Most of them had come alone, they were nervous, and some were still busy studying with their books. 

By now Naruto had learnt that embracing Sasuke or kissing him without restraint was perfectly okay within the gay community, but not on the street. Holding his hand, however, or laying his arm around Sasuke's shoulder, had become a habit he no longer was aware of, and only seeing the weird looks of the other boys made him realize that perhaps this was not the right place.(But Sasuke needed his comfort and his encouragement, didn't he?) 

Sasuke actually tried to contact one of the other boys. “What book is that?” he asked when he had spotted that the boy was using a different book than the one he had been studying with himself. 

The boy showed him the copy. “I was told that this one is the best.” 

Sasuke got even more nervous. 

“But it's stupid anyway. I want to go on patrol and hunt down criminals, not sit behind a desk and do calculations.”

Sasuke agreed, and when the bystanding boys joined in he felt kind of accepted. He observed that some of them were preparing cheat sheets.

“I thought that this was not allowed,” he said. 

“Of course not,” the boy replied.

“Then why do you do it?” 

“To pass the test of course.”

“And if they catch you?” 

“Then I've failed. Haven't you ever cheated in a test?” 

“Of course I have,” Sasuke answered. “I used to be a ninja. I was expected to cheat. But now I'm going to be a policeman, and I won't cheat any more.”

The boys looked at him as if he had said something very weird. He felt that he had again got into conflict with the complex code of behaviour of Music Town. 

“You're a ninja?” one of the boys asked. “A ninja from one of the ninja villages?” 

“Yes. But now I live in Music Town.”

“Cool. But why do you want to be a policeman when you could be a ninja? Ninja are cooler than policemen.”

“Actually they aren't,” Sasuke answered, feeling more comfortable now. He realized that if he wanted to be a policeman he'd have to get along with his future colleagues. He was determined to learn this too.

“I had to leave my village. I like it better here, though.”

“You had to leave because you're gay,” a girl said who had joined the group.

“Yes,” Sasuke answered, not wanting to tell the real story. He took Naruto's hand. He remembered that in their mixed dance class girls had been more acceptant than boys, except that they wanted him and Naruto to split up. He smiled at the girl and drew Naruto to his side. He was glad when the test began.

Naruto waited in the entry hall together with the few girl-friends and boy-friends who did not have to work or go to school or university. He was nervous now too, even though he did not know what he hoped for. He had supported Sasuke in every conceivable way, but the idea of Sasuke training to be a policeman in Music Town still felt weird to him. It would mean that Sasuke would spend most of the day apart from him, talk to people he, Naruto, did not know, and have an aim that had nothing to do with him. 

The test was over, and Sasuke returned with the other prospective policepeople, pale and exhausted. Naruto saw one of the girls try to talk to him: “This was very difficult,” but Sasuke just nodded and didn't reply. He sought out Naruto and allowed Naruto to embrace and comfort him, and to find them a place in a corner, where Sasuke leant heavily against him, looking down on his lap. 

“Were it those percentages?” Naruto asked.

“It was everything,” Sasuke answered. “I thought I had understood it, but I hadn't. Also, there was far too little time.”

The other candidates seemed to be of the same opinion. They all looked depressed, few of them talked, and those whose boy-friends or girl-friends had waited for them allowed themselves to be comforted. Boys too, Naruto observed, so Sasuke shouldn't get into any trouble for appearing weak.

With time Sasuke calmed down. “There's alternatives,” he said. “Taking classes and learning the stuff they demand here. That's what the others are going to do.” Just that they had gone to regular schools and found the test extremely difficult all the same. 

There was still the prospect of having to go to prison, but he didn't discuss this with Naruto. He was stil waiting to get an appointment with the state attorney, but he didn't discuss this with Naruto either.

When it was announced that the test had been seen through and that the results were hanging next to the door of the room where the test had taken place Sasuke sent Naruto to check whether he had passed. He watched other people go to check the lists and return with expressions of resignation or superficial indifference, while others talked to their friends and confirmed each other that the whole test had been ridiculous and that anyway they had more desirable options than joining the police (among them the boy with the cheet sheet.) Most people seemed to have failed, and Sasuke too resolved to agree to some years in prison and use the time to learn the stuff he needed to pass the exam. 

When Naruto returned, however, he looked proud and he was smiling. “You made it” he said. 

Sasuke could hardly believe it. During the test he hadn't felt as if he was passing: there had been too many problems where he had just given his best guess, or written what seemed most plausible to him. At the ninja academy of Konoha he had always been well prepared, he had passed every exam with a wide margin, and he had always known that he had passed and only worried whether he had passed with a hundred or ninety percent. He had no experience with scraping up just enough points to pass, which was what had happened now. Fifty-six percent, he read when he had a look at the results himself. Really nothing to be proud of. He didn't feel anything, while Naruto hugged him and caressed his hand: Naruto knew the happiness and relief that came with just passing, and he didn't understand why Sasuke wasn't happy too. 

Of more than a hundred candidates only twenty had passed, and most of them were girls. Tests for physical fitness and a medical check-up followed, and Sasuke did not have any difficulties with these, but several of the other candidates had to leave at this point, so that only fourteen of them remained. 

Naruto stayed with Sasuke throughout the test, so that both the staff and the other candidates gave him funny looks. Sasuke noticed the funny looks too, also he found it annoying that with Naruto at his side it was more difficult for him to talk to the other candidates. (Naruto was still in the habit of answering questions directed at Sasuke.) 

The atmosphere was quite relaxed, now that only a few other candidates were left, and some of the girls decided where the whole group would go for lunch. They were nice, Sasuke decided, even though they were girls. He didn't trust them to be good at fighting, however, or at training hard for anything. They were too busy talking and chatting or being friendly towards people. At the moment he enjoyed their friendliness, and if Naruto had not been talking all the time he would have told people about himself too. Now everyone knew that they were ninja and that they were waiting for the right moment to take Danzou out of office.

“Then why do you want to be a policeman?” one of the girls asked.

“I plan to reestablish the police of Konoha once Danzou is down.”

Young people generally reacted differently to their plans than grown-ups. They were more impressionable, and did not automatically dismiss their plans as unrealistic. They remained sceptical, however.

The next stage of the test was a group discussion about one of the current controversies of Music Town. A new concert hall was being planned, which was considered a waste of money by a large part of the population. Only groups that had become famous already throughout the ninja world would be able to fill the hall, meaning that they'd only get conventional, noncontroversial music there, while new and innovative groups wouldn't benefit from the concert hall. It was for tourists, for the big labels, and for the hotel industry. People had been protesting against it for some weeks now. 

Sasuke hadn't followed the controversy in the news, as he was mostly interested in news from the ninja countries. He didn't have any opinion about it – conventional music and innovative music all sounded the same to him. Also he didn't understand why such a discussion was part of an entrance test at the police. It took him some time to figure out that the discussion was not really about the concert hall itself, but about the protests and what were and what were not adequate responses by the police. 

“You beat up each other about a concert hall?” he asked. “I thought people of Music Town took pride in being the most peaceful place of the ninja world?” 

“It's not the fault of the police,” one of the boys replied. “People attacked them. If they got hurt they brought it upon themselves.”

“Still I thought that there were rules and that the police doesn't hurt people.”

“There's definitely rules,” the staff replied. 

Sasuke fell silent: the sentence “they brought it upon themselves” had hurt him, and he kept thinking about it.

The discussion ended soon, as Naruto successfully derailed it (or got it back on track, as he perceived the situation.) He wasn't supposed to participate at all, but he did so all the same, and it wasn't possible to silence him: he delivered a passionate speech in favour of the new concert hall because he actually liked the music that was going to be played there. Everyone, both those who were against and those who were in favour of the project, looked horrified: Those who were in favour only thought that the town needed the money, they didn't like what they called conventional and noncontroversial music either: 

“Really, you should learn more about music if you want to stay here”; they said. “It's our culture, and you need to accept it and make it part of your own. You have to stop listening to the sentimental stuff we export to the ninja countries and learn to appreciate intelligent music!”


	102. Chapter Ninety-Nine: Protection failed

The staff withdrew to consult about their impressions of the group discussion. Sasuke still felt irritated as he had not been able to take the discussion seriously as a test, but people in Music Town had weird criteria for choosing their future policepeople which he still didn't understand. After some minutes one of the staff members called inside the boy who had said the people who had been beaten down had brought this upon themselves, and after a short time he returned, packed his stuff and left. Naruto asked him why he had to go. 

“Too emotional and impulsive,” the boy said, making clear that he did not want to discuss this with his competitors. 

The rest of the group had passed, and together they waited for the last element of the entrance test: single interviews. All of them felt pretty confident by now, including Sasuke, who had no idea what the single interview might be about. He listened to the other candidates' chatter without making an attempt to participate in it: listening to the sound of other people talking was enough for him – he was part of the group, even without speaking himself. His thoughts wandered: his life would change again, his plans for revenge were put off even further, but becoming a policeman he would continue his clan's tradition. He was content that again he had found people who accepted him, just as he had been content when he had been accepted by the gay men of the dance class: These chattering girls would be his people now. He did not mind that their chatter was all superficial (first about school, then about the best places for going out in the evenings, then gossip about common acquaintances.) He did not trust them to be good policewomen, not even according to the criteria of Music Town, where policewomen were expected to face criminals without fear, without intention of attacking them and without the means to survive a fight if fighting was necessary. He'd protect them, he decided. 

One by one the candidates were called to the staff's office, and one by one they returned smiling. Only one girl returned and packed her stuff without saying a word, and when the other girls asked her what had happened she refused to speak. It was Naruto who went outside with her to comfort her and give her courage. Sasuke felt jealous even though he should have been glad that at least for some minutes Naruto left his side. 

He was the last candidate to have his interview. He thought it was by chance, but in reality it was because the admission committee had needed to find a way to deal with Naruto. It had not escaped them that he followed Sasuke everywhere, and they had got curious about him, so they decided to invite him to join Sasuke for the interview. 

Naruto was surprised, but he followed the invitation. The committee, five persons altogether, looked scary, and Naruto was glad that he was with Sasuke to protect him. The first questions were actually directed at himself. 

“So you're his friend,” they said. 

“Boy-friend, actually,” Naruto replied.

Sasuke took his hand, grateful for this admission.

“Do you support your boy-friend's plan to become a policeman?” 

“Definitely. He really wants it, and I want him to be happy.”

“Do you think he will make a good policeman?”

Naruto considered it. “He's an excellent fighter,” he said. “He's strong and courageous and doesn't lose his nerves. He's also a bit stiff and rigid and does his best to be all correct, just like you.”

People smiled, but the smile was rather ironic than friendly. 

“What else is he good at?” the head of the committee continued to ask.

Again Naruto had to think. “At the restaurant, where we worked until recently, he was good at refusing people another drink when they were drunk.”

“I was also efficient at drawing beer,” Sasuke said. “You always spilled half of it.”

“Yes, that too. He's also good with very small children. He reads stories to them. He's also good at teaching taijutsu to our class of six-year-olds.” 

“You teach taijutsu to children?” they asked, turning now to Sasuke himself. He explained about it. 

“You get along with them?”

“Yes. All in all, I mean.”

“They listen to you and follow your orders?” 

“Most of the time.”

“He can be quite strict and commanding,” Naruto took over again. (At the moment Sasuke didn't look strict at all, but rather insecure.) “No child would dare to disobey him.”

The committee turned to Naruto again: “So there's various things he's good at,” they said. “Also, we have heard that the two of you have to manage your own household and do so considerably well, even though occasionally you still need some support from grown-ups.”

“We don't. They just insist on interfering.” 

Again the head of the committee smiled, but the smile was not friendly.

“We understand it's difficult for you to accept the interference of grown-ups after having mangaged your own affairs for years. - So you think that not only you yourself but your boy-friend too is well able to look after himself?”

Again Naruto thought before he answered. “He isn't - he needs me. Without me, he'd forget to eat and drink. I have to cook for him. Without me, he's stay at home, brooding, he'd never go out and have fun.”

“Without me, you'd still live in your room in the attic above our old restaurant and spend your time dreaming of Konoha,” Sasuke replied. 

The committee pretended not to have heard him.

“So this is why you don't leave his side now.”

“I'm his friend, that's why I stay at his side. I need to comfort him in case he fails.”

“Other people get comforted when they arrive back home.”

“With him it's different. I need to look after him to prevent him from doing something stupid.”

“What kind of stupid?” 

“Running away. Leaving Music Town and deciding to take out Danzou by himself.”

There was a silence of several seconds. Sasuke made use of it: “I haven't done anything stupid since I arrived in Music Town.”

“Because I look after you.”

“Because in Music Town, contrary to Konoha, People know the difference between right and wrong.”

He had raised his voice, but he soon got a grip on himself again. He turned to the committee: “Your boss may have told you that I have attacked the jinchuuriki of the Cloud in order to capture him and deliver him to Akatsuki. I regret it. I am ready to accept punishment.”

“It's not for us to decide about your punishment,” the head of the committee replied. “What interests us is whether you might forget about right and wrong again and let your emotions dictate your actions, with or without your friend looking after you. So if now you tell him to leave, so that we may talk to you by yourself.”

Sasuke straightened. The day's challenges had been very different to the challenges he was used to as a ninja, and he felt exhausted. He sensed that convincing the committee that something like his attack against Killerbee wouldn't happen again might become difficult. He also felt that Naruto's interventions had not improved his chances, so being told to tell him to leave came as a relief to him.

“Please leave. I have to face this on my own. I can face this on my own.”

Naruto got up. He was not stupid, and he knew that if he refused to leave it was the end of Sasuke's career as a policeman. He got up and kissed him on his cheeks before he left, and Sasuke kissed him back. “Good luck!” he said.

He did not return to the other candidates but decided to wait for Sasuke in the corridor, feeling much more nervous now than during the written exam. He hated written exams and he had not any problem with Sasuke facing them on his own, but he considered himself better at dealing with people, and Sasuke facing the committee all by himself felt scary to him. He wished he could protect him, but he was also aware that actually he had not been very helpful when he had talked to them. He had a bad conscience, and he hoped that Sasuke would make up for his blunders. Still the idea that Sasuke might succeed on his own, that he might have learnt to survive in Music Town without him, Naruto, and get along with the place's inhabitants in spite of occasional irritations made his heart ache, even though he knew that this was stupid.

Sasuke returned from the room, looking exhausted, but also smiling, and less tense than Naruto would have expected. They did not have to wait long until the door opened again and people told him that he had been accepted.

Sasuke felt mainly relieved, but Naruto was just happy and all ambivalence was gone. “You've made it,” he said. “You're going to be a policeman! All your dreams will come true! Soon you'll be a real citizen of Music Town, and no one will guess that you haven't been born here. All that remains for you is learning a musical instrument.”

Nothing was further from Sasuke's mind at the moment.

“Congratulations from our side too,” the head of the committee said, watching the boys embrace. “We're happy to welcome you in our team.”

With the boys they joined the rest of the candidates. They were told that classes would start tomorrow and that then contracts would be ready for signing, but that this evening the training programme would start with an invitation to dinner for everyone to welcome them so that they got to know each other. Actually the candidates had already got to know each other during the breaks, still almost all of them accepted. People went home to tell their parents that they had succeeded, and Naruto felt sad that he could not do this too, until Sasuke reminded him that if he, Naruto, had waited for him at home, he too would now have someone to return to and tell him about his success.

They went home to dress up, and then, during dinner, the tension of the day melted away. Even the members of the committee relaxed and told some anecdotes about previous entrance tests, Naruto entertained several girls all on his own, and under the influence of some alcohol even Sasuke got talkative and told his future colleagues that his parents had worked for the police and that they had been murdered. There was the silence he was used to by now, and one of the girls tentatively pressed his hand. 

Sasuke leant heavily against Naruto: he felt tired and exhausted, and worse drunk than he would have expected after a single glass of wine. He felt content and at peace, accepted with his sorrow and his dreams, and he generously overlooked that no one here would support him in achieving his revenge.

Naruto felt ill at ease. Making the girls laugh and supporting Sasuke's weight helped him cope with the situation, nonetheless he was highly aware that no one else had brought their partner and that he did not belong. When dessert was served the situation got even worse as people began to ask him questions about himself: Where he went to school or what kind of job he had, and he told them that he had just lost his job and that else he was a ninja too, just like Sasuke, and did not need to learn another trade. 

“Then you must be an excellent fighter too,” a member of the committee said. 

“I am.”

“Have you ever considered joining the police too?”

“But the police here don't fight, do they?” 

“We try to avoid it. But this does not mean that we can't fight if necessary. You're good with people, aren't you?”

“I am.”

“That's what we need.” 

“But I'm not good at the stuff Sasuke needed to learn for the test,” Naruto still objected.

People shrugged. “You can learn it,” they said. “Just consider it. You have to do something, after all. You cannot stay at home all day, or accompany your friend without having any plans of your own.”

When they returned in the evening Sasuke stood in front of the small shrine he had built for the photo of his family. Naruto sat on the bed, waiting for Sasuke to join him – it was the same every evening, and every evening it were difficult moments for him, making him feel lonely and excluded. He knew that this was important to Sasuke and that it were only a few minutes and that after these minutes Sasuke would join him in bed, still he was always glad when these moments were over.

This evening Sasuke took particularly long, and Naruto, who normally sat all silent while waiting for him, moved and stirred the cover of their bed, so that Sasuke got aware of him. He turned around, took Naruto's hand and drew him to his side. Again he stood silent, his arm around Naruto's shoulders now, and even though Naruto did not feel as excluded as before he still got restless when Sasuke did not speak. 

“What are you thinking when you stand in front of your family's picture like this?” he asked. 

“I wonder whether my parents are proud of me,” Sasuke replied. “I tell them I'm going to be a policeman, and I ask them to approve of my decision, even though here in Music Town it's mostly women who work for the police, and they try to do their job without fighting. I hope they would have been content with this. I tell them that I've found someone I love, and I hope that they are content with this too. I tell them that we'll find a way to have kids even though we're both men, and I hope they're happy for me, happy that I have found some happiness.”

“I'm certain they're happy for you,” Naruto said, laying his arm around Sasuke's hips. He could barely speak: he felt moved that Sasuke had now included him into these moments of silence in front of his small shrine (he would continue to do so in the future), but he also felt a bit sad.


	103. Chapter One Hundred: Childish Games

There'd never be a way to know for certain what Sasuke's parents would have thought of his decision, but with his new grown-up friends it did not take long to get a reaction from them: They all congratulated him and again invited him and Naruto to dinner to celebrate his acceptance. Even people he hardly knew approached him and wished him luck: there was a lot of gossip in the gay community, and now he, Sasuke, was the subject of this gossip. It was the friendly kind of gossip, however, the kind that grew from caring for someone. Even those who did not know him well still cared.

“It's all the opposite of what happened after my family got murdered,” Sasuke told the husband of the guy from Earth Country. “There people gossiped too, but the gossip made them turn away from me. Here people who listen to the gossip come to congratulate me in person.” 

“Congratulating is easier than finding words of pity after a loss as yours,” the man replied. “People are people, here just as in Konoha.”

It was not entirely true, Sasuke thought. Not very long ago a man from the gay community had died – an old man in his sixties, which was very old according to the standards of Konoha, but far too young to die in the opinion of the locals. He had died from cancer and everyone had known about it, and when he was dead people went to comfort his partner. Sasuke and Naruto had gone too, even though they had not known either of the men very well, as apparently this was how people behaved on such an occasion.

“I knew how you feel,” Naruto told the man. “My heart would break too if anything happened to Sasuke. I would not know how to go on.”

The man took Naruto's hand and pressed it.

“It's as if life has stopped for you, but for everyone else it's going on,” Sasuke said, and the man took his hand too and drew him to his side. 

“The house is all empty now,” he said. “I come home and no one is there to welcome me. He was home all day in the final stage of his illness, and he always welcomed me and did his best to sound cheerful, even though he suffered horribly from the pain. Now the house is silent.” 

He spoke for about half an hour, telling the boys episodes of his life at his partner's side, then suddenly complaining that probably he wouldn't be able to keep the house on his own, then again talking about his partner's illness. He leaped from one subject to the next without transition, he talked without syntax or breaks, making it difficult for the boys to follow him, yet on the other hand they were glad that they weren't under any obligation to answer: They would not have known what to say. After some time the man remembered their presence and told them to dance and enjoy life:

“You're young,” he said. “You need something to look back to when you're old and die.”

They left, but they did not dance. They sat down in a corner and held each other without speaking. 

Later they got told off for their words. They should not have confirmed the surviving partner in his view that life was all bleak now but should rather have encouraged him to look forward and learn to live without his partner (and maybe look for a new one.) The criticism did not come from the man himself: on the contrary, a few days after the funeral (for both boys the first civilian funeral they attended, without any speeches about sacrifice and heroism) he and his late partner's sister invited them to their place, thanking them explicitly for their friendly words. The man showed them a photoalbum with pictures of himself and his partner, talking now in a much more coherent way, and he presented them two necklaces.

“We bought them when we became lovers,” he said. “It does not make sense for me to wear them now that I am alone, and anyway, I am too old now. We were too old actually when we bought the necklaces, but you always feel young when you've just fallen in love. But you're really young, you may wear them.”

While the people from the gay community all congratulated Sasuke to his acceptance at the training center of the police the young people from the riverside were much more critical. 

“You're really joining the police and plan to work for the state,” one of them said. “With your background I would have expected you to be more critical and more sceptical of the system.”

“This is Music Town, not Konoha,” Sasuke replied. “I'd never work for Konoha.”

“There's no difference,” people replied. “In Music Town too the police fight against those who criticize the administration.” 

“But here they've rules.”

“That's the point. Break the rules where you consider them unfair or just stupid and then see what happens.” 

“Rules for the police, I mean,” Sasuke insisted.

“Rules to increase the amount of force they use in well-defined steps.” 

“Rules to avoid fighting, and to limit violence,” Sasuke replied, getting angry. “If you use excessive force you'll get into trouble. They told me so during my job interview.”

“Only in theory,” one of the women said. “Practially they won't give testimony against each other. That's their idea of comradeship.”

Sasuke remembered that comradeship was one of the central values of Konoha. 

“I won't do this. I'll stick to the rules.”

“And betray your comrades when they don't stick to the rules?” 

“I'll see that they stick to the rules too.”

“You can't fight your own comrades,” another young woman joined in. “No one can.”

“Besides, single policemen aren't the problem,” a third woman added. “The real problem is that they make their own rules, and that they set them up in a way that ensures their victory. Nothing shall endanger the system.” 

“You'll see yourself. The rules always give the police a decisive advantage in every confrontation,” a young man said. “And if necessary they change the rules.”

“It's not true,” Sasuke replied, realizing that he was running out of arguments.

“You can try to be different, of course,” a woman said in a more conciliatory tone. “It won't be easy though.”

“It's going to be extremely difficult,” a man said. “They'll do their best to co-opt you and make you part of their organization. They'll imprint their values into you and convince you that everything they do is right.”

Sasuke swallowed – he felt dizzy suddenly.

“Apparently they've begun already. You need to keep a clear mind and not stop thinking for yourself. Otherwise they will use you.”

“They probably plan to use you as an agent of Music Town's interests in Konoha, once you are able to return,” a third man added. “That's why they made allowances for you in the entrance test. You really have to be on the alert.”

Sasuke had never seen it that way. “You think I should leave?” he asked. 

“Well, I've met some nice policemen,” one woman said. “The ones in our quarter are quite okay, actually. They once helped me out when some guys tried to molest me. Since then they know me, and when they catch me drinking beer at a place where this is not allowed they tell me to leave quickly and don't charge me a fine.”

“With those from our quarter I get along too,” a man said. “With them, negotiations are possible. Once we had a spontaneous demonstration, which normally is not allowed, but they were ready to close an eye on the condition that we avoided certain sensible places. Police from other quarters would have set up a kettle and arrested all of us.”

Sasuke still did not know what a demonstration was, nor had he any idea what they meant when they spoke of a kettle. (He understood that it was not a household item.)

“You'll manage,” one of the young women said, closing the subject and indicating that Sasuke was still part of the group. “Just don't stop thinking for yourself.”

He remained silent for the rest of the evening: the young people had made the police of Music Town appear as evil as ANBU from Konoha. It was not the impression he himself had gained of the police, and he did not know what to trust: his own impressions or his friends' words. 

He did not discuss the matter with Naruto, as Naruto was just as ignorant about these questions as he himself. He rather asked Juugo's fostermothers for explanations the next time the boys visited them: 

“I've come to appreciate the police of Music Town because they are bound by rules and don't act like ANBU who kill whoever they are ordered to kill. But now people tell me that the police themselves set up the rules to their own advantage and change them when they consider it necessary. On the other hand, our friends themselves don't seem to care much about rules, they break them deliberately and think it's all okay. Also they don't have any issues with the police bending or breaking rules in their own favour, making them get away with it when they break the rules.”

“What kind of rules do your friends break?” one of the women asked.

“Making music after ten. Drinking alcohol in places where this is not allowed.” 

“But these aren't crimes. It's just childish. It's not the same as breaking the old rules that are common to all mankind, as ‘don't kill’.”

“Still it's not just a trifle if people drink alcohol in public places,” her partner contradicted her. “You don't want our kids to run into drunk people on the street, do you? And if the police always turns them a blind eye they will never learn that what they do is not okay.”

For a while they discussed whether the police should be stricter when it came to alcohol. That's people in Music Town, Sasuke thought, discussing trifles for hours because they don't have any real problems. He observed however that with time the subject of the discussion slightly changed: It was no longer whether it was okay that the police turned a blind eye on people drinking alcohol in public places but rather whether the rule itself was sensible and proportionate.

“Our friends think that rules only exist to protect the system,” he tried to get the discussion back to the original subject. “They think that this makes it legitimate to break rules.” 

“You don't change the system by drinking alcohol in public,” the first woman said. 

“You need to break rules in a meaningful way,” her partner joined her. “That's how you really change the system.” 

Both boys were surprised to hear this from people they had always considered conventional, law-abiding citizens of Music Town.

“When we had just fallen in love and were still active in the political section of the lesbian community we sometimes participated in kiss-ins,” the woman continued. “It was still forbidden at the time to kiss a same-sex partner in public, because allegedly it offended the moral sentiments of the majority of the population, and several times we got arrested. We paid our fines and planned the next kiss-ins, and while we persisted, views on sexual mores changed, and now it's the people who attack us who get arrested. But of course a kiss-in is not the same as getting drunk in public.” 

Again the boys needed some explanations. 

“That was a significant way of breaking the rules,” the other woman added. “Getting drunk is not such a significant way. Or take those who climb on the roof of the old concert hall in order to protect it from getting torn down. They are doing something. Sometimes peaceful demonstrations or petitions with a lot of signatures just aren't enough. Sometimes you have to break the rules in order to achieve something.”

“How does climbing on top of the old concert hall protect it against being torn down?” Sasuke asked. 

“They cannot take it down while someone is on top,” the woman said, sounding as if Sasuke was asking a rather stupid question. 

“Why not?” 

“People would get hurt.”

They would have brought it upon themselves, Sasuke thought, climbing on top of a building that was about to be torn down, then he remembered that this way of thinking was not approved of by the local police. Here people climbed on top of some roof and trusted that no one would tear down the building as people must not be hurt.

“Then there's of course those who block the road to the building,” the other woman added. “It's not as spectacular as climbing on top of the roof, but it's effective too.” 

“What do people do?” 

“They sit in front of the building.”

“And that's enough to stop the authorities of Music Town?” 

“It slows down the machines.” 

Again Sasuke tried to imagine it and wondered. 

“Of course if the administration insist in the end the building will be torn down all the same.”

“So what happens to people who sit on the road or climb on top of the roof?” 

“They get carried away.”

“So there is some fighting, after all.”

“No, they are just carried away.”

“People don't resist?”

“You must not resist the police.”

Sasuke tried to imagine the situation, but he couldn't. 

“It seems like a childish game to me,” he said. “And I don't see its use if the new concert hall will be built all the same.”

“Sometimes people manage to significantly slow down the project, forcing the government to overthink its decisions. Last time for example some people had locked themselves to some heavy concrete parts on top of the roof with thick chains, and thrown away the key. The police were not able to get them off the roof, but they had to get some specialists with extra strong saws. They made quite some fools of themselves on that occasion.”

Again the two women had to explain this particular form of protest, but even with explanations Sasuke had difficulties to understand the logic behind it. 

“So no one's fighting, and no one's getting killed,” Naruto asked.

“No. The side that first takes resort to violence loses. People must perceive you as the good guys.”

Sasuke considered it. “It wouldn't work in Konoha,” he said. “In Konoha, people who don't fight are considered weaklings and cowards. ANBU doesn't take responsibility when they get hurt.”


	104. Chapter One Hundred and One: Woman and Horse

Naruto told Juugo's fostermothers about the police's offer to join them too, even without taking the entrance exam, just based on his fighting skills and his skill of dealing with people. The two women were rather sceptical. 

“You don't have to do the same thing as Sasuke,” they said. “He wants to follow his family's tradition, and he wants to learn how the police functions if it has to follow rules, but this is his aim, not yours. You have to find an aim of your own.”

“You know my aim,” Naruto replied. “I intend to become Hokage of Konoha.”

“But you have to do something meaningful while you're here. Maybe you can go to school and get a degree that allows you to apply for university. Then you can study law or economics.”

Naruto was not looking forward ot it. “You don't need to be a scholar to be Hokage. You need to be a strong fighter, ready to defend the village and sacrifice your life for your people.”

The women looked completely unimpressed. (Sasuke too: the idea of Naruto sacrificing his life for Konoha was not attractive to him.) 

“You have to be Hokage in times of peace too,” the women said. “You have to make your village prosper. We've heard that Konoha is in severe economic troubles these days – you'll have to get it back on track once you've driven Danzou out of office, and for this you need to know about national economy.”

Naruto was silenced. 

“And also you have to do something. You can't sit at home all day and wait for the political situation in Konoha to change.”

Naruto knew that they were correct, but he didn't want to admit it. They teamed up with the guy from Earth Country and his husband, collecting information about various ordinary and professional schools in Music Town, suggesting a couple of careers to him that in their opinion suited him, even threatening to force him to go to school (they were entitled to this as Naruto had been required to name guardians too when he had applied for official status as a refugee), and then Naruto gave in and accepted the police's offer. Like this he would at least stay with Sasuke. (The grown-ups agreed to this when they heard that training at the police would give him a degree that counted as a qualification for university.)

So Naruto joined classes a week later than Sasuke, meaning that he had to catch up from the beginning. He invested a lot of work, mostly because he saw that Sasuke invested a lot of work too: He wanted to catch up with him. He was not as enthusiastic about all the stuff he had to learn about rules and laws as Sasuke was, but he enjoyed learning about the different theories why people became criminals: because of poverty or neglective and abusive families, or because people just were selfish by nature and needed to be restrained by rules and the threat of punishment. He enjoyed the general education that was part of the training programme, however, foreign languages and science, much to his own surprise, and with time he understood that he had never been less intelligent than other kids but that from the beginning he had been impeded by his loneliness and everyone's hatred which had made it difficult for him to focus on his books. Learning side by side with Sasuke and and helping each other made it enjoyable. 

(Sasuke had initiated this. He did not have any interest in setting up a rivalry against Naruto but was mainly interested in getting better than all the girls around them, who had attended regular schools and so had a head start compared to them.) 

He also enjoyed sitting with an extra teacher and learning for the entrance test which he was required to take retrospectively. No one should be able to complain that a person who did not meet the requirements was allowed to join the police.

It was unfair all the same, the young people from the riverside explained to him. No one else received help from the police itself in learning for the test. 

“They want to co-opt you too,” they said. “They want to make use of your ninja skills. They are proud of having two real ninja in their ranks, and they think they can use you as weapons.” 

Training to be policemen also led to the boys' first contact with what the locals called Martial Arts. It was part of the training programme, but they were exempted of having to participate in the beginners' lessons for their classmates. Instead they were asked to join the police's Martial Arts masters in their own training: it was not possible to cancel Martial Arts training completely, as it was part of the offical requirements of the training programme. So this was Music Town's way of dealing with rules, Sasuke thought: not break them, but get an official exception, or, even better, find an official way to change the rule in a way that made sense.

So the boys taught taijutsu to the Martial Arts masters of the police, and in their turn they learnt Martial Arts from them. The most astonishing thing they learnt was that the local Martial Arts teachers held the view that a true master did not need to fight, and that they believed that this was true for great ninja too: they were so good at fighting that they no longer actually needed to do it. They were very disappointed that Sasuke and Naruto had never heard of the concept. (After some time they remembered that they had indeed heard of it: the mothers of their own taijutsu kids had spoken about it too.)

During their classmates' Martial Arts lessons Naruto now learnt the stuff he needed for the entrance test, and Sasuke was taught horse-riding as he had requested during his interview with the police. People again made stupid jokes about horse-riding and being gay, and Sasuke did his best to ignore them. (Some time later a man from some association of gay policemen approached him, alerted by some of the girls of the class, and asked Sasuke whether he needed help. When Sasuke declined, saying that he could deal with this by himself and that he needed no one to protect him, the man frowned and explained to him that he must not deal with these jokes by beating up people but that he had to tell people off with a calm voice, or to reply with a joke of his own. Until he had learnt this, he should accept help. Sasuke had swallowed: if he wanted to live in Music Town he could not remain neutral to the town's conflicts, even if he still considered them trivial compared to those of his own life, and he'd have to learn to deal with these conflicts in ways that were considered appropriate by people in Music Town.) 

When his first riding lesson was about to begin he had already forgotten about these jokes. He was early, and when he arrived at the stables the horses all put out their heads and looked at him. He had never seen a horse from such a short distance, and they looked indeed a bit scary. He was tempted to use his Sharingan on them, but people had already explained to him that he was not allowed to use genjutsu or invade people's minds in order to control them. (Using his Sharingan to learn a new technique, or to see through people's movements in a fight, however, was okay, even if Naruto thought otherwise.) Sasuke was not sure whether it was okay to use his Sharingan on horses, but he didn't want to take a risk.

The riding-teacher was completely relaxed about the horses. “They want to get to know you,” she said. “They hope for some food. But they've already been fed this morning.”

She headed for one of the boxes, opened it and led out the horse that was inside. Secretly Sasuke used his Sharingan on her, but she wasn't forging chakra, nor using any trick: She just patted the horse's neck and led it by the bridle, and the horse followed her to the riding-hall. Sasuke followed her too. 

She had to put on the saddle before the lesson could begin, but before this she fed the horse some apples and cookies she had brought with her. She talked to it while she did so: “Look, here's an apple, now be patient, I first have to cut it up.” 

The horse kept trying to reach for the apple, and the woman had difficulties to cut it. When she had managed she fed one half after the other to the horse.

“You want to feed him too?” she asked Sasuke. 

He didn't answer. The whole scene confused him. He had asked to learn horse-riding because he wanted to know how the local women controlled beasts that were as strong and big as horses, without using chakra or any other tricks. He had not expected them to talk to them as if they were one-year-old children. 

The woman misinterpreted his confusion. “Are you scared?” she asked. “You don't have to.”

“I'm not scared,” Sasuke replied automatically, straightening. He still did not show any incliniation to accept a piece of apple and feed it to the horse.

“But you like horses, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't want to learn to ride.” 

Sasuke did not feel any particular affection for horses, but he had lived long enough in Music Town to know that he should not admit this. “I guess I'm really just a bit scared,” he said.

“That's okay,” the woman answered, softening. “I was too when I was still a little girl and never had sat on a horse. But there's nothing to be afraid of, and this one is particularly friendly. He's an experienced school-horse, and has taught horse-riding to quite a few beginners. You'll learn it too.”

Sasuke felt even more confused. The woman gave him a quarter of an apple and showed him how to offer it to the horse. The horse's lips were soft and wet, and his eyes warm and brown and full of curiosity. He was really friendly, Sasuke decided and patted him on his neck as he had watched the woman do it. 

He tousled the horse's mane, which was thick and black, and as the horse kept begging he fed him the rest of the apple one quarter after the other. He began to enjoy it, and he smiled at the horse. 

“Here, that's the last one,” he said when he fed the last bit of apple. “It's all gone now: no apple any more!”

The horse begged for some more, and when he realized that Sasuke didn't have any more apples he turned to the woman. 

“No more apples,” she said. “First do some work.” She turned to Sasuke: “Now you have got to know each other, so you can start to learn to ride.”

When the lesson was over Sasuke had learnt to make the horse go and stop and to turn left or right. The woman told him that he learnt quickly, and she told him that he should talk to the horse and tell him that he had done well. She also cut up another apple and gave it to Sasuke so that he might feed it to the horse. He felt more confident now.

“You did really great,” he said, caressing the hair between the horse's ears. “You're a fine horse.”

Within a few days horse-riding became Sasuke's favourite subject. He made quick progress and soon got his own horse both to ride and to look after. “He's a bit nervous and a bit shy, just like you,” his riding-teacher told him. 

Sasuke discovered that with this horse he actually had to avoid all signs of nervousness or insecurity but appear all calm and confident: then the horse would be calm too and trust him. He grew attached to the horse, even though it was more difficult than the school-horse and did not always obey him. 

“You have to show him who's the master,” a male riding-teacher told him who had come to stand in for the regular teacher when she did not have time. “You have to know what you want and to give clear signs. It's just like dancing. If you're confident and know what you want the lady will follow you into any figure and when the dance is over you'll be her hero and she'll tell you that you made her fly. Only when you're insecure she'll begin to try to lead herself and start discussions.”

Naruto would never tell him that he was his hero, or that he made him fly, Sasuke thought. He wondered whether he should tell the man that he was gay, but he decided against it. All in all he preferred his regular teacher, who spoke of gaining the horse's trust and not of showing him who was the real master. She also advised him to give clear signs, however, and to compliment him when he followed these signs. She told him that he was fully responsible for everything and that if something went wrong it was always his mistake, not the horse's. “You're human, and he's an animal,” she said.

Sasuke thought that when they were dancing Naruto also held him responsible for everything that went wrong, even though he was definitely human himself. 

He did not talk to Naruto about his experiences with horse-riding, but he told the people from the riverside about his achievements. They were shocked. 

“You're joining the mounted forces of the police! But they're the worst of all.”

“Why? They do their patrols on horseback, that's all.”

“They are used to keep down protests and demonstrations.”

“They're used at football matches to keep the drunken fans in check!” Sasuke was no longer ready to accept all his friends' accusations against the police.

“It's all the same: horses against large crowds of people.”

“You have a better overview from a horse's back.”

“You're more intimidating on a horse. They're used to scare people.”

“Horses aren't aggressive,” Sasuke replied. “They eat grass, not people. They run when they're scared. People don't have to be afraid of them.”

“Ordinary horses aren't aggressive,” a young woman corrected him. “But the police horses are. They will tread on people and trample them to death.”

For some seconds Sasuke was silenced. “My horse won't do that,” he then said. “I won't make it tread on people.”

His friends gave in, admitting that he might become a policeman different from the others, and his horse a police horse different from the others. (Sasuke did not catch the irony.) It turned out that three of the young women had been active riders too at the age of fourteen, and they agreed that one day Sasuke would introduce them to his horse (and convince them that it was not aggressive at all.)


	105. Chapter one hundred and two: Imports and Exports

Sasuke feared the appointment with the state attorney: Having been accepted by the training center of the police the idea of making use of his years in prison to acquire some academic qualifications had lost a lot of its attraction. On the other hand Sasuke was glad that the time of uncertainty would now be over – either way. 

Again he asked Naruto to accompany him. He felt more secure with Naruto at his side, but mostly he wanted Naruto to see and hear how he dealt with the affair. 

When Sasuke entered the state attorney's room the man already had his file on his desk. He asked both boys to sit down (wondering a bit about Naruto's presence), but instead of following the invitation Sasuke directly opened the discussion: 

“I have attacked the jinchuuriki of the Cloud with the intention of abducting him and delivering him to Akatsuki. I didn't do it in the end, as just in time I remembered that this was wrong. I understand that I should not have attacked him at all, and I regret that I did it. I am ready to accept punishment according to the laws of Music Town.”

The state attorney looked at him, obviously annoyed that Sasuke had taken charge of the conversation. “Now first sit down,” he said, “then we may talk.”

Sasuke obeyed, sensing that he had misbehaved. Naruto followed him.

“You speak of the law of Music Town, but this is where the problems begin. The laws of Music Town, as well as its legal procedures, have been in flux for the last twenty years as we try to adapt them to the customs of civilized countries. According to the laws of civilized countries it's not permitted to execute a minor. Even a life sentence is not considered appropriate for a minor, not even when he has committed murder, which you haven't. On the other hand, according to the laws of the ninja countries, a person who attacks someone else may be hunted down and killed by the offended party or their village, irrespectively of his age. So we have now two legal systems, and Music Town is not free to do what it considers just and legitimate. 

If we make public that you live here in Music Town the Raikage will ask for you to be delivered to Cloud village. We can't risk to deny this request – Music Town can't afford an open confrontation with a major ninja country, not when we're already risking trouble with the Leaf by accepting you and your friend as political refugees. When it gets known that you have found refuge here, the Hokage will demand that you are sent back. We are able and willing to protect you against any claim Konoha has on you, but we cannot face a conflict with two ninja countries at once. Music Town's survival as a free town depends on the ninja countries' readiness to protect us against any threat against our sovereignty from one of them. 

On the other hand we can't simply deliver you to the Raikage as this would mean a violation of several international conventions we have signed, with the consequence of losing our trade privileges with the rest of the world. Our economy depends on these privileges: It's via Music Town that advanced technology is imported to the ninja countries, and it's via Music Town that food specialities and folkloristic artefacts are exported to the countries beyond the mountains, beyound the desert, beyond the sea. We export traditional music too: people in the ninja countries no longer care about it, as they prefer the shallow modern stuff, but people elsewhere are fascinated by it.”

Sasuke had never given any thoughts to the peculiarities of the economic situation of Music Town. Waiting to hear whether he would be put on trial or not he was not able to appreciate the state attorney's explications now either.

“In short, we can't afford to endanger our relations with the civilized world by delivering you to the Raikage, and we can't endanger our relations with Lightning Country and Cloud village by making known that you have attacked Killerbee and not giving you over. So as the alleged victim of your attack has claimed that the whole fight was a fake I suggest it's best to shove the whole story under the carpet.”

This Sasuke understood: 

“Under the carpet? Then what about justice?”

“I already explained it to you: People in different areas of the world have different ideas about justice. Not only are there differences between the ninja countries and the rest of the world, but also there are huge differences between different places among the civilized countries.”

“But no one except the administration of Konoha considers it right to murder innocent people, most of all children.”

“I've heard about your family's fate,” the state attorney answered. “I'm sorry about it. I'd be even more sorry if you died too, meaning that your clan would be entirely extinguished. I'd also be sorry because you appear to me an unusual young man. So getting back to your question: In the history of the world you will find societies that considered the killing of children legitimate and necessary under certain conditions. They would have praised the killers for their lack of sentimentality. They are exceptions, though, and according to the current view of almost all civilized countries the killing of children or other innocent persons is a crime. This includes minors up to the age of eighteen, even if they are accused of a serious crime as yourself. Therefore we'd lose the respect of the civilized countries if we sent you to the Raikage.”

“What about judging me according to your own laws, and keep it all secret?” Sasuke insisted.

“It's not possible, at least not if Killerbee refuses to act as a witness. We can't build a trial solely on your confession, but we need some hard facts or some other people's versions to compare your words to them. After all, there's always the possibility that your confession was gained by illegal means. So without other witnesses or evidence which we would have to request from Kumogakure we cannot put you on trial, and we cannot request these witnesses without drawing the Raikage's attention to you.”

Sasuke still found the explanations not satisfactory. He had already learnt a bit about the interrogation techniques of the police of Music Town and knew that it would be easy to blow up Killerbee's wrong story.

“So it's best to keep you in Music Town without a trial, at least until Cloud Village and Lightning Country have adopted the standards of civilized countries.”

He laid the file to the side. 

“You should thank Killerbee,” he said. “If he had not decided to forgive you we'd put you to trial, with his testimony against you. But as I said, scholars of law in Music Town have been studying the different legal systems of the world, and some, though not all, allow that a perpetrator goes out free if the victim is ready to forgive him.”

Sasuke listened without moving. 

“Maybe if you had been put to trial you would have been put on parole.”

Sasuke had to ask what this was. He was not sure what to think about it – letting go off a perpetrator without punishing him in the hope that this would me more effective in preventing him from committing further crimes than putting him in prison. It seemed reasonable, but when he thought of his own grudge against Danzou he found it unbearable.

“Normally we don't do this in the case of a serious crime,” the state attorney continued. “But with you there might have been reasons to make an exception.”

“Reasons that don't have to do with Music Town's imports and exports?” 

“Yes.”

The state attorney scribbled down some notes on a piece of paper. 

“So maybe if it helps you you can consider yourself on parole. You may talk to some social worker – that's what we require of people who are on parole. Here's an address and a letter you may give them so that they know why they should spend some time on you.They'll answer to your questions, and maybe they will find some words to give you peace.”

Sasuke took the letter.

“So if you will excuse me – I have some other work to do.”

Sasuke felt numb, and Naruto had to nudge him to make him get up. “They won't accept you to their prison, not matter how much you try,” he said when the door had closed behind them.

He laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulders and together they went to the place Sasuke had been sent to. Sasuke had to persuade people to grant him an appointment as they thought it weird and a waste of time that he wanted to talk to them without having been made to by a judge, but in the end he managed.

“Why is this so important to you?” Naruto asked him when they left. 

“I don't want things under the carpet,” Sasuke replied. “That's what they do in Konoha.”

It was not the whole truth: He also wanted Naruto to see that he repented and that he was ready to accept punishment. He wanted them to be again as close as they had been before Naruto had learnt about his attack against Killerbee. They still had sex almost every day, and when they hadn't (mostly for lack of time, or for being tired) they at least cuddled and kissed, and Naruto was gentle and even had improved his technique, but there was no longer the look of bliss and surprise in his face when Sasuke passed him the bottle of lube, the look Sasuke craved for, the look of the twelve-year-old boy who had not expected that Sasuke would offer his lunch to him during Kakashi's bell test. Also, with Naruto talking to the kyuubi all the time, sex had gained a somewhat experimental quality. Sasuke felt that they weren't two people any more in bed but three, and he didn't like it. 

“You cannot change the past,” Naruto said, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts and making him return to the present.


	106. Chapter One Hundred Three: Earning Respect

It took both Naruto and Sasuke some time to get used to their new life – it was not more work than before, as they had lost their jobs in the restaurant, but they had to get used to getting up early (and to not being able to have sex before getting up. After some days they found out that it was better to have sex in the afternoon than to wait until just before they went to bed.)

With time, however, life got more quiet again, and Sasuke found time to write to Sakura: 

Dear Sakura! 

Thanks for your letter, and thanks for taking up again your investigations into what my family actually did. Don't risk your life though, and also tell Sai not to risk his life. It's not worth it. It would be a great comfort for me, however, if I knew for sure that my family did not do anything wrong.

He thought of his attempts of meditating and getting in touch with the universe: not only he himself but his family too had been rejected. Only people in Music Town took his existence for granted and did not care about the universe itself. He returned to his letter.

But even if they did something wrong it would be a great relief to hear that what they did was not enough to make them deserve death. Here people think that no one deserves death, except those who have killed someone themselves, and even this is widely debated. Also it's consensus that no one should be killed on a mere suspicion.

I have now a lot of opportunities to learn all this stuff as I've been accepted as a policeman in training. Naruto has been accepted too, though for him it was mainly because he didn't know what else to do. We have both lost our jobs as waiters because our patroness didn't pay taxes for us, so he needed to do something. He enjoys it though. Most of all he enjoys learning foreign languages, and in the evening he always tries to spot some tourists and engage them in a conversation. They only last for a few minutes however, as then Naruto runs out of words, but he makes up for it by laughing and smiling. 

The other students have learnt several foreign languages from an early age. That we have to start from zero, and that we need to be granted a private teacher just for the two of us shows us again how we were kept in ignorance in Konoha, not knowing about anything that happens in the rest of the world, not even knowing much about our own countries. 

So thanks also for asking around what people in Konoha now remember of the Second Ninja World War, and thanks for finding out that people approved of the attack on Amegakure when it turned out successful, even though it constituted the beginning of a long war with a lot of casualties.

He tried to remember his feelings when he had read this, but it was difficult. What he felt now was mainly emptiness, but he did not know how to express it.

I'm grateful that you and your family don't approve of the attack against Amekagure, however.

Our training as policemen is very different from what it would have been like in Konoha if my clan had still been in charge of the police. In Konoha, the Uchiha were in charge of the police because we were the most efficient fighters, meaning that we were able to deal with strong ninja who had turned criminal, but here the police avoids fighting. When I'm on patrol, normally with some woman, I'm expected to watch and listen and not do anything. If I'm lucky I'm allowed to talk to the victim while my colleague talks to the perpetrator. The idea is that I learn from her how to talk to people in a way that makes people obey. I still haven't discovered the trick, nor have I watched any of these women fail. They have discovered however that both I and Naruto are good at dealing with drunk people.

He remembered the episode: He and his colleague had been called to a pub where a man refused to accept that he wouldn't be served another beer. He had reacted instinctively: laying his hand on the man's shoulder and guiding him outside, saying “you better leave now” and repeating it several times as otherwise the words wouldn't have entered the man's brain. The man had not offered any resistance, and outside Sasuke's colleague had taken over. She had led he man to his place where his wife had recieved him, not very happy that he was brought by the police. Sasuke had gained a lot of respect on that occasion, and people had let him do more of the talking from then on.

As neither the police nor anyone else is supposed to fight people have developed weird ways of dealing with conflicts. For example, if people want to protest against decisions of the administration of Music Town they get themselves into situations where the police has to rescue them. Everyone considers this perfectly natural and rational: the police, the protesters themselves, and also citizens who have nothing to do with the conflict. 

He thought for some seconds before he continued. 

Actually, being a member of the police now too, I am determined that I too will do my best to rescue these protesters, and prevent them from getting killed. 

Again his thoughts wandered to his clan. He tried to imagine what would have happened if they had tried something like this in Konoha in order to protest against their ghettoization, chaining themselves to the cenotaph with the names of Konoha's war casualties for example. They would have been killed, he thought, and people would have made fun of them, thinking them foolish and nothing else. He was thankful again that now he was in Music Town where such forms of protest worked, and then he thought that even without trying such a form of protest his clan had been killed. He returned to his letter. 

There's also more conventional forms of solving conflicts in Music Town. Some of our friends have got into trouble for hanging out and making music after ten, for example... 

He did not write that he and Naruto had got into trouble too – into worse trouble than their friends, as for them now (or rather again) standards were higher than for ordinary citizens. They had been told that they would be expelled from the training center if ever again they were found with people taking drugs, and it had taken Naruto half an hour to convince their superiors that they were not taking drugs and that they would not end their friendship with people who had always inspired them and had always been loyal to them, even helping them move to another place. 

Sasuke had been silent on that occasion and let Naruto do the talking. He had again felt the ground open beneath his feet when it had been suggested to him that the career he had worked so hard for was endangered. 

… but now people set up negotiations to find a compromise between the young people who make music and the neighbours who want to sleep. It's their way here. Rules are not everything but they change them instead of breaking them. 

I'm also learning horse-riding. You might have seen horses on pictures in history books: the warriors of old rode them. Here the are extremely popular among girls of the age of twelve. 

It had taken him some time to understand the jokes about females and horses, but when he had understood them he had plainly told the male riding-teacher that he wouldn't want Naruto to follow the tiniest gesture of his hands and that the riding-teacher should rather reconsider his relationship to his wife.

You'd love horses too. They are strong and beautiful and they perfectly follow their young mistresses' wishes.

So we're both doing fine here, and people around us are glad that now we have started meaningful careers. They understand that for me it's important to continue my clan's tradition, even though the police in Music Town is quite different from that in Konoha. 

(Actually he hoped that it was not that different, because the more different it was the more similar it was to ANBU.) 

People tell Naruto that he should do something else when he has finished his training, for example study at the university to learn the stuff he needs when he is Hokage. I consider studying law in order to understand the different legal systems of the world, but only after my training as a policeman as I lack the regular qualifications for university. My ninja degree isn't of any value here.

Give my regards to Hinata, and my congratulations for her marriage with Neji. I'm sorry that the Clan council was cancelled, but I hope she'll find other ways of keeping the clan as honourable and respected as it always was. 

Take care of yourself! I hope that soon there will be better news from Konoha. 

Yours, Sasuke. 

Actually Sasuke did not care about the Hyuuga Clan or about the Clan Council. It had been the Clan Council, after all, that had decided about the Uchiha's ghettoization. (He had read about it in a history book he had found in the library of Music Town. Only the Clan Council could decide about a punishment directed against a whole clan.) He did not care much about Konoha any more. He still stood in front of his family's picture for some minutes every evening, but he mainly silently told them what had happened during the day, mostly during his training, and he hoped that they were content with him. 

He gave the letter to Naruto so that he might read it, and when he had finished reading Naruto added some lines of his own: 

Dear Sakura! 

I am glad to hear that there are no missions any more in Konoha so that fewer people die and you have less work. I wish that there were also other, better news. 

Sasuke and I are doing well. We have found a small apartment for the two of us, and we have new jobs now, meaningful jobs as people keep telling us. It feels weird: as if we were going to stay. Sasuke would like to stay, I think, but my heart is still with Konoha. He can't stay anyway, no matter how much he wants it: he still doesn't play a musical instrument. I'm now learning to play the guitar, however, and maybe later some other instruments with strings as the banjo or the ukulele. 

It was mainly a consequence of his birthday show. A man who had listened had asked him whether he could imagine being a singer and speaker for their his newly founded band, and when it had turned out that Naruto didn't play any instrument he was made to learn the basics of guitar-playing: just some harmonies were considered enough.

People try to explain to me the difference between real music and the cheesy stuff they export to the ninja countries: they always make me play the most difficult chord possible, difficult both for the player and for the listeners. Sasuke normally accompanies me to rehearsals and listens, and maybe he learns too, but I am doubtful.

I'm sorry that the Gutsy Ninja is not available in Konoha. I wished that people in Konoha could share Jiraiya's dream of peace, and I am glad that you lend out the two copies I sent you to everyone who's interested. 

Take care of yourself! 

Love, Naruto. 

Naruto also wrote to Hinata: 

Dear Hinata ! 

I wish you all the happiness of the world for your marrage with Neji, and I wish your child happiness health and a long life! I hope it will be able to grow up in a more peaceful Konoha and not have to fight from an early age. 

My heart is with you and your reform of the Hyuuga clan, and I hope that they are successful. I understand that Danzou does not approve of you being head of your clan, but I think you'll be the best head it had for generations. 

I wish I could be with you and help you, both with your reform of the clan and with your efforts to spread dreams of another Konoha.

Love, Naruto.

He let Sasuke read his lines to Sakura, but not what he wrote to Hinata. He also added another three copies of the Gutsy Ninja to the letter.


	107. Chapter One Hundred Four: Fuss

It was time to talk to the social worker the state attorney had sent Sasuke to, and again Sasuke asked Naruto to accompany him. They had to wait for a few minutes, then they were admitted to the social worker's room. He introduced himself and asked the boys to sit down.

“So you've brought a friend,” he said. 

“Lover,” Naruto corrected him. 

“Okay, lover... have you become lovers here, or were you lovers already before Sasuke arrived in Music Town?”

“Only here. In Konoha we were just friends.” Naruto took Sasuke's hand. “We were only twelve then, after all.”

“You fled together?” 

“No. He fled before me. We met here in Music Town by chance, and here we became lovers.”

“You must have been happy then.”

“I was.” Naruto laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. 

“So, do you like it here in Music Town?”

“I do,” Naruto answered, knowing that he needed to be polite. “But you'll understand that we plan to return to Konoha as soon as possible. Sasuke likes it very much here, though.”

For the first time the man turned to Sasuke: “Do you?” 

“I do. Here the administration is not allowed to murder people. You know, I really love the town with its festivals and the library and the gay community, but if it had nothing of this I would still prefer it to Konoha because here the administration doesn't murder people.”

“But it's normal not to murder people, isn't it?” 

“Not in Konoha. In Konoha my whole family was murdered on orders of the administration.”

There were again those seconds of silence Sasuke was used to by now.

“I'm sorry,” the man finally said. 

“Don't. It's not your fault after all. But this is why it's important to me that what I did myself does not remain unpunished.”

Again the man was silent for a few seconds, obviously surprised by Sasuke's sudden change of subject. “I see. But now first tell me about your life here. What do you live on, for example?” 

He was speaking to Naruto again, and Naruto told him that they got paid for their work as policemen in training. “We get more than our classmates, and we get some money from the town. People have explained to us that it's okay to accept the money and not consider it an injustice as we don't live with our parents and therefore need more money than our classmates.”

“So you work for the police. Both of you?” 

“Yes. It was Sasuke's idea.”

“That's unusual. Well, not that unusual, after all. I've met a couple of young men who consider joining the police when they are no longer on parole. None of them was accepted, however. So, do you like your work?” 

“Mostly. I like learning foreign languages, as I can use this to talk to tourists, but I don't know what to think of all the theoretical stuff about finding proof and so on. I'm better at learning things by doing, but the only thing I'm allowed to do is walk around and pick up drunk people. Sasuke is better at it than I am: Looking strict and stern comes natural to him.”

Sasuke felt annoyed. 

“The best part is that we've been accepted to work at some children's project now. We once visited it with our classmates, and when people learnt that we are ninja they asked us to come on a regular basis and teach these kids some taijutsu. It's supposed to make them calm down, so that they are less aggressive.”

“You don't think that taijutsu has that effect?”

“No. Taijutsu is for fighting.” 

“Learning taijutsu of course means that the kids have to focus on their technique,” Sasuke explained. “They can't just let go and hit their opponent in whatever way comes to their mind. They also have to train regularly and learn to deal with frustrations. But all this does not make your aggression or anger go away. It only helps you focus and gives strength to your anger.”

The man looked at them, wondering, and both boys felt the gap that separated them from people in Music Town: People in Music Town didn't fight for real. If they had kids they might feel at home here, but maybe even their kids would feel the gap.

“So both of you enjoy your work, that is mostly. Have you found friends among your classmates?” 

“The girls are okay,” Naruto said. “The boys keep at a distance. They feel insecure around us. The girls are insecure too, but they are also curious, and they want to be nice to everyone. Also, they are all in love with Sasuke, which makes talking to them a bit difficult.”

“Some are in love with you,” Sasuke said. “You can't resist flirting with them.”

Naruto's flirting still consisted mostly of making jokes and not caring that occasionally he made a fool of himself. The girls seemed to like it though. 

“But they must know it's hopeless,” the social worker said.

“Female logic,” Sasuke replied. Naruto drew him to his side. 

“They are too young for us,” he explained. “They are the same age, but they still live with their parents. They don't know anything about life, and they've never been away from Music Town. We get better along with people who are older.”

The social worker asked them about older friends, and Naruto told him both of the gay community and the people from the riverside. The man frowned when he heard of the latter: “Keep at a safe distance from drugs,” he said. He understood however that these young people were more fascinating to Sasuke and Naruto than their own classmates. 

“And else? Is there any aspect of your life you want to improve, and where you might need some support?” 

“We'd like to return to Konoha,” Naruto answered. “But I doubt you can help us there.”

“I don't.” The social worker leant back, looked at both of them, but ended up looking at Naruto. “So all in all I don't think it makes sense to put Sasuke to prison.”

They have their own ways of making people talk, Sasuke thought, and now Naruto has fallen into the trap, thinking he was making small-talk while in reality he was being interrogated. 

“Why?” Naruto asked back. 

“His life is stable here in Music Town. He has you, he is training for a meaningful career, he has friends. Putting him to prison would ruin it all.”

“What's that got to do with the question of punishing him or not?” 

“Putting him to prison would destabilize him. He'd make friends with problematic people, and in the end he might commit another crime when he gets out.”

“It wouldn't happen,” Sasuke replied. “I know now the difference between right and wrong and I know now that there's more to doing right than protecting one's own people. I know that there are things you must not do under any circumstances.”

The man looked irritated. “You don't want to go to prison, do you?” 

Sasuke thought for a while. “I don't,” he answered honestly. “But that's not the point.”

“Then what is the point?” 

“That I get punished for what I did.”

Naruto nodded. They were both leaning heavily against each other, and the man looked extremely irritated.

“We in Music town think differently,” he said. “We think the point of punishment is to prevent the criminal from committing more crimes, and it's obvious that in your case the best way to ensure this is to let you continue your life as it is. If there's a second crime we'll reconsider our decision of course. That's what being on parole is about.”

Both boys were silent, again considering the ways of thinking of Music Town that differed so much from their own. 

“But his attack against Killerbee was a second crime,” Naruto said. “He attacked me and tried to kill me before he left Konoha.”

The social worker looked surprised. Sasuke himself was in shock: he had not thought that Naruto would bring up this event. 

“He told me that he was out of his mind then. But then he tried to kill another jinchuuriki.”

“I was out of my mind,” Sasuke said. “And I was again out of my mind when I attacked Killerbee. I thought that there was no such thing as good and evil, just the duty to protect one's own people, or avenge them when protecting them was no longer possible. Maybe I was out of mind from the time my family got murdered, when I believed that it was my responsibility to protect and avenge them, but then everyone else in Konoha was out of their mind too, thinking it was my responsibility and not theirs.”

The man listened intently.

“Here it's not the victim's child's responsibility to catch the murderer. Here this is the job of the police.”

“But that's normal, isn't it? Any child would be overchallenged with such a task.”

“Not in Konoha. In Konoha I was encouraged to train hard and become strong, so that I could do it myself. In Music Town I would have been comforted.”

Murder was rare in Music Town, and having just started his career Sasuke would not be involved in a case of murder, but once he had been called to an accident: a man had almost drowned in the river. He had already been pulled out of the water when Sasuke and his colleague arrived, and some policewomen were giving first aid, while others were comforting the children who had witnessed the accident. They had kids of their own, Sasuke had thought, and knew how to deal with such a situation. He himself had been sent to fetch a doctor, and only later he had understood that they had tried to protect him too. 

“I was out of my mind when I left Konoha, and I was out of my mind in a different way when I attacked Killerbee. When I left Konoha I thought that everyone else considered my family's murder a crime, even though no one cared to do anything about it. When I attacked Killerbee I believed that no one else considered it a crime, and that there was no such thing as a crime, only the pain of people whose loved ones have been killed.”

“But you must have taken into consideration that other people feel pain too?” 

“I did, in the end. I didn't kill him after all.”

There was a silence of almost a minute, and Sasuke felt the gap that separated him both from Naruto and the social worker.

“How old were you when you attacked your friend?” the social worker asked. 

“Twelve.”

“A mere child... you would not have been put to trial here.” The man straightened. “Regard it as this: You were extremely young when you attacked your friend, so young that you would not have been held accountable here, and punished only in the way children get punished. Maybe instead of punishing you it would have made more sense to find you a new foster family.”

“I didn't need a foster family. I was well able to look after myself,” Sasuke interrupted him.

“Or finally find you a foster family as obviously you couldn't look after yourself. So what you did now to Killerbee counts as first, not as second crime, and it makes sense to put you on parole. It's unusual with a severe crime as attempted murder, but as you broke off the attempt from your own accord, as the victim has forgiven you and as you've never had a chance to develop more than very crude ideas about morality and as even these crude ideas were undermined when you learnt that Konoha was responsible for your family's murder it may be justifiable. Being among people who make you think about right and wrong will be more beneficent for you than putting you to prison.”

Sasuke looked down, feeling ashamed. Naruto took a while to understand the implications of the man's words.

“You don't need a very refined sense of morality to know that you don't attack your friend,” he said.

“Nor anyone else,” the man replied. “That's what I mean by crude.”

Again Naruto had to think for some seconds. “So you believe that letting him go without punishment is not just a compromise because Killerbee insists that the whole fight was a fake, but that actually it is the best solution?” 

“Yes.” 

“Even though he tried to kill first me and then Killerbee?”

“Yes.”

“I didn't kill you,” Sasuke spoke up. “I might have done it, but in the end I didn't.”

“But then you should have learnt and not attacked Killerbee.”

They were stuck. Sasuke looked to the floor.

The social worker spoke again: “I understand that it's difficult for you to accept that Sasuke should go without punishment, even though he tried to kill you. From your point of view he was a boy of your own age, just as strong and mature as you. But from our point of view he was a mere child, and that he tried to kill you was only partially his fault, and mostly the consequence of some cross neglect from the side of Konoha. They should have explained to him that killing you was neither necessary nor justifiable. They should have made clear to him that he did not have to avenge his family all by himself, but first of all they should not have ordered the murder. From our point of view he was a lonely child, too young to take responsibility for his actions, and we won't punish him for what he did to you at the age of twelve. 

But you are not under any obligation to adopt our point of view. As I said, being of the same age it's understandable that you don't look at him as a child. No one would blame you if you left him because you cannot live with someone who tried to kill you. We won't put him to prison, however, but provide him with an environment where he can learn about good and evil, not as a child learns who simply adopts the attitudes of those close to him but like a young man who asks a lot of questions.”

“I won't leave him,” Naruto replied. “In Konoha we are true to our friends. I won't give up on him.”

The man looked surprised. “But then why do you want him to go to prison?” 

Naruto understood that his attitude was not very logical. 

“I don't want him in prison. It's just – he has tried to kill me, and then someone else too, and instead of punishing him everybody just makes a lot of fuss about him.”

“He's making a lot of fuss,” the social worker said after a few seconds. “The police would have preferred to keep it all hidden. Also, a trial would be much more fuss.”

Naruto was silent. The social worker looked at him, trying to read his expression, but Naruto lowered his eyes. The social worker turned again to Sasuke. 

“As we are not going to put you to prison, as you insist on not just being let go for free you may offer some compensation to the man you attacked. That's what we normally demand of young people who did something wrong. Do you need support contacting the man?” 

“I don't.”

“He already invited him to a beer?” Naruto said. “A quite expensive beer in one of the pubs for tourists in the center of town, but it wasn't better than what we served at the restaurant we used to work at.”

“I would have invited him for dinner too,” Sasuke added, “but he didn't want it.”

“He would have considered it an attempt of bribery,” Naruto continued. He thought a bit more. “We've volunteered to help carry equipment and tidy up after the man's next concert.” 

“But that's what everyone does,” Sasuke said. “Help people when they need help. It's no compensation for attempted murder.” 

“Sasuke has also accepted to listen to Killerbee's concert even though he hates loud music,” Naruto added. “Sitting it all through will be pure torture for him.”

“But that's no compensation for attempted murder either, is it?”

“No, not really,” the social worker replied. He seemed quite confused now. 

“So that's my task for you until our next appointment: go and ask Killerbee what kind of compensation he would consider appropriate.” He got up. “We have talked longer than we should,” he said. “There's probably already someone waiting outside. I'm looking forward to seeing you again.” He turned to Naruto. “You're welcome too. Then there will be some fuss about you too.”

“I don't need any fuss,” Naruto replied. “I can care for myself.”


	108. Chapter One Hundred Five: Love Letters

They were both in thoughts when they went home. For Sasuke, even though he was glad that he would not have to go to prison, it was difficult to accept the reasons offered by the social worker. It made sense to him that people in Music Town chose the way of action that was most likely to prevent him from committing another crime, yet on the other hand he was convinced that he didn't need to be prevented from committing another crime. Also, though this corresponded to his own explanations of why he had attacked Killerbee, hearing from someone else that his moral convictions were coarse and immature had been painful. 

Naruto was busy thinking about Music Town's way of dealing with Sasuke. He himself was not certain why he resented it, as he definitely did not want Sasuke to go to prison. He did not know why he had brought up that Sasuke had attacked him when they were twelve: he had forgiven him, hadn't he? But in Music Town Sasuke's attack didn't even count. They put the blame not on Sasuke, but on Konoha. They were making a lot of fuss about Sasuke instead of telling him off. He was not sure why he wasn't content with it, because, after all, he had forgiven Sasuke – so why was it so difficult to accept that other people were ready to forgive him too, that they were ready to forgive him more fully than he himself was? They forgave him his attack against Killerbee, but he, Naruto, couldn't. 

Having arrived at their own place Naruto first sat down to read the mail. He still received a bunch of fanmail every day, actually the number of letters was still increasing. Some people had already written a second time since Naruto faithfully answered every letter he received.

It were always the happiest moments of the day. Naruto was not given to unhappiness, and all in all he enjoyed his life: working for the police, discussing football with his friends or with his new classmates, making love, but reading the letters from people who felt inspired by the Gutsy Ninja moved his heart as nothing else did, and the happiness he felt while reading was deeper and higher than all the happiness he felt during these other activities. 

Sasuke made tea for Naruto while Naruto was reading, and prepared some food for both of them. He sat down with Naruto and read the letters Naruto had finished, and occasionally he looked up to see the happiness on Naruto's face. He wanted to reach out to him and take his hand, but he knew that this was not the right time: he must not disturb Naruto now. He wasn't moved by the letters as Naruto was as he didn't share Naruto's dream of peace, but the light that illuminated Naruto's face from within in those moments deeply touched his heart too. 

“You're beautiful when you're reading,” he said. Naruto put away the last letter, and Sasuke felt that now it was okay to take his hand. Naruto looked up. 

“You've always been the handsome one,” he said.

Sasuke had changed since their arrival in Music Town, he thought, his face growing even finer and more feminine. Sometimes he missed the cool boy he had admired back in Konoha, but what he missed most was Sasuke's innocence: the conviction that even though he had deserted from Konoha Sasuke was basically a good person. 

“These letters are more important to you than anything you find in music Town, aren't they?” Sasuke continued.

“Except the books on the Rikudou,” Naruto replied. “People here don't appreciate his teachings, but I do. They don't know what treasures are buried in their library.”

Sasuke continued caressing his hand. 

“I have arranged an interview for you so that you may speak more about your ideals and about your vision for peace.”

“An interview with whom?”

“With Urban Lady.”

It was the biggest women's magazine not only of Music Town but of the whole Ninja World. Being men, Sasuke and Naruto had never read it, but Sasuke has bought two issues of the corresponding magazine for men, then he had realized that he could not afford the stuff advertised there. 

“Why Urban Lady?” Naruto asked.

“It's mostly women who write letters, so I thought a women's magazine might be the best place to reach out to the Gutsy Ninja's fanbase.”

It was true that most of the fanmail was from women. Naruto hoped that the Gutsy Ninja was also read by men and that they just didn't write letters. He thought that only if men adopted his dream of peace too there was a chance of it ever becoming reality.

“They'll take photos, they'll ask us questions about our life, and they'll talk to you about your dream of peace.”

“Us?” Naruto asked. “What about you?” 

“I'll be present too, I've invited them to talk to both of us, and they've agreed.” 

“Will they take photos of you too?”

Naruto remembered the photos that had been taken for the back cover of the Gutsy Ninja. It had been a weird experience, half pleasant, half humiliating.

“Yes, there'll be photos of me too.” 

Naruto felt satisfied. 

“You want some crazy love letters too?” 

Sasuke didn't answer. He thought of the letters Naruto got on a regular basis; they constituted about five percent of the mail he received every day: “You're my hero! I'm so much in love with you!” H didn't like them. 

“Aren't I enough for you?” Naruto asked in the most feminine voice he could muster without his sexy no jutsu. He laid his head to the side and blinked. 

“You are,” Sasuke answered, walking over to Naruto, taking his hand and caressing it. “But for me you don't have to behave as if you were a girl. I prefer you as a boy.”

“So how do you like me best?” 

“When you're serious,” Sasuke answered. “When you're reading and dreaming of peace.” 

Naruto tried to look serious, but he just looked funny.

“It doesn't work like this. It has to happen by itself,” Sasuke said. “So don't bother. I'll take you as you are.”

He began to caress Naruto's face and his hair. Naruto was still too confused by the idea of an interview to react to it.

“Wait,” he said when Sasuke tried to kiss him. “Now I know - you also want some letters from girls who want your baby.”

It took Sasuke some seconds to understand this. (He didn't have a baby after all, did he?), then he grew all stiff and stopped his activities. 

“I found out when I searched for some letter to reread it: You are collecting those that spoke of babies in a different box.” (It was Sasuke, not Naruto, who felt responsible for storing away the letters, and preserving them all.) 

Sasuke blushed. “They'd be our kids, not mine our yours,” he said. “And we wouldn't give them to those women. We'd raise them ourselves.”

He wondered whether the women would maintain their offers if they knew that he and Naruto insisted on keeping the babies.

Naruto thought that he was catching a glimpse of Sasuke as he used to be, proud and arrogant, and he also saw why people in Music Town found that attitude rather funny than impressive. He caressed Sasuke's hair, and Sasuke grew soft again.

 

“We'll raise the kid here in Music Town,” he said, “and he'll learn to dance and play football as soon as he can walk, and we'll see that he learns to play a musical instrument too, and to love intelligent music, and we'll teach him that fighting is only for fun and that no one must get hurt.”

“If the kid's a girl you can teach her horse-riding,” Naruto said. He drew Sasuke onto his thigh and caressed his face. Sasuke was caressing his face now too, then he let his hands move over Naruto's chest and down to his hips.

“We'll spoil him and make a lot of fuss about him, as people in Music Town do with their kids,” he continued. “But now I'm going to make some fuss about you.”

“I don't need any fuss,” Naruto replied, but Sasuke's hand wandered nearer to his genitals and Naruto understood what kind of fuss he meant. They didn't expect any refinement of each other when it came to the art of seduction, and saying “we have half an hour until dance training starts, so let's use it for some love-making” would have worked too, but normally they tried to be a bit more romantic. Naruto opened the button and zipper of his pants, as this was obviously where Sasuke's hand wanted to go, then he suggested to Sasuke to move over to the bedroom.

“Sasuke's making a fuss about us,” he told the kyuubi while he contacted him again. “He's making fuss about my body, each part of it, because he likes it. He cares for me, and he gives me joy.”

“He wants to take advantage of you by turning you soft and weak,” the kyuubi replied. “He's your main obstacle on your way to strength and greatness.”

Sasuke didn't use his Sharingan on Naruto as he knew that Naruto didn't like it, but he still noticed when Naruto became unfocused for some seconds, busy with the monster in his belly and not with Sasuke. Sasuke waited patiently, even though he hated it. 

“I wish it were all easy again,” he said. 

“I can't change it,” Naruto replied. “I can't simply make it vanish.”


	109. Chapter One Hundred Six: Learning new ways to protect your friends

Sasuke had invited the reporters of Urban Lady to his and Naruto's own place, with the result that far less make-up was possible than at the magazine's building itself. Also it helped that there was no make-up specialist present, only a photographer who had brought a collection of liquid make-up and powder and concealer in different shades. She sent the boys to the bathroom so that they might apply the stuff themselves (they also used some mascara they had among their own supplies), and they felt much more comfortable like this than with some stranger touching their faces. With the photographer there had come a journalist with notebook and tape-recorder. 

They agreed that first they'd take a walk around town so that the boys could tell the two reporters about their life in Music Town while photos would be taken at their favourite places. Naruto left it to Sasuke to choose the route and the places, and Sasuke led them first to Heroes' Park, where they were photographed sitting hand in hand on the lawn. The photographer told them to look deeply into each other's eyes, and Sasuke told how here he had first seen that being gay was a respectable way of life in Music Town. The reporters then tried to explain how gay people were still far from having equal rights, but Sasuke cut them short by telling them that he had learnt by now to counter silly jokes about horses. 

They went to the head quarter of the police where they were photographed arm in arm (and the photographer regretted that they did not have their uniforms with them), and Sasuke told how hard he had needed to work for the entrance test, and how everything he had learnt in Konoha was useless here. 

In the gay community center only the entrance area to the ballroom was open, meaning that they would have to be photographed there, but the photographer asked the barista for permission to push the chairs and tables to the wall (there was only one other guest present, and he was sitting at the bar and chatting with the barista and now watching curiously what the boys and the two journalists were up to) so that Sasuke and Naruto might perform some dance steps and be photographed dancing. The journalist with the notebook used the time to talk to the barista and the other guest and to listen to their stories about how they had all thought that Naruto was gay and Sasuke in denial when they had first come to the place, and how it had taken them some time to discover that it was the other way round. The woman took notes, and when Naruto realized what was happening he felt embarrassed. 

They visited the municipal library too, and both boys explained what it meant to them, and then they went to the dojo where they still taught taijutsu to their group of small kids, and the photographer insisted on them posing in some spectacular fighting positions. 

Sasuke would have liked to introduce them to his horse too, but as the horse had nothing to do with Naruto the two reporters suggested that they'd rather return to the boys' place and that there they'd talk about the Gutsy Ninja. Naruto felt happy about that decision: it had been a pretty weird afternoon with Sasuke doing most of the talking, and even developing some kind of friendly outgoing facade, which only Naruto noticed, as he knew how Sasuke was like on other days, and how stiff he was normally when he talked to women. 

He himself was rather thoughtful on that day. He was wondering what he would tell during the interview itself, and busy searching for words both about Jiraiya and about his dream of peace. He was glad when they arrived at their own place. 

Sasuke prepared tea and coffee and served cookies, while Naruto had already sat down with the two journalists to sign their copies of the Gutsy Ninja. They explained to him the structure of the interview: He'd first talk about his life with Jiraiya, then about how Jiraiya had found his dream of peace, then about Naruto's own ideas for achieving peace. When Sasuke joined them at the table the journalist pressed the button of her tape recorder. 

“You've been a student of Jiraiya for a long time,” she started the interview. “How was it like to live with him?” 

“It was a bit weird, as I was still a child and Jiraiya preferred cheap hostels with assorted brothels to stay at. More than once he returned to our room badly drunk with one or two women in his arms. But as I grew older I learnt to cope with it, and I met some interesting people that way, and learnt a lot about life. I guess it's not what you consider appropriate for children, but I enjoyed it.”

“You say you were Jiraiya's student. So what did he teach you apart from letting you share his life?” 

“Ninja arts of course. Ninjutsu and taijutsu. I've never been good at genjutsu, but Jiraiya taught me to counter it.”

“But we all know that Jiraiya was not only a ninja but mostly a great writer. Did he try to teach you something about literature too?” 

“He made me proof-read Icha-Icha,” Naruto said. “I didn't appreciate it at the time, though. People tell me it's because I'm gay, but I guess it was because I was too young. Maybe I should give it another try. The real thing is better though than books.” 

He took Sasuke's hand. Sasuke caressed his back, content that Naruto had (somehow) said that he was gay.

“Kids here are different of course. They read the Gutsy Ninja for the sex scene.”

“Yes, let's stop talking about Icha-Icha and rather talk about the Gutsy Ninja,” the journalist said, glad about the change of subject. “Did Jiraiya make you proof-read the Gutsy Ninja too?” 

Naruto shook his head. “The book was written before I was born. I am named after the Gutsy Ninja. It's been out of print for over ten years.”

The journalist looked at him, waiting for more explanations, then she understood that she needed to ask a more precise question. 

“How did you learn that you were named after a fictional hero?” 

Naruot renamed the days of his Sennin training, and the sorrow after Jiraiya's death, and his wish to make the murderer pay for it. 

“It was only after Jiraiya's death that I learnt about the Gutsy Ninja and the dream of peace he tried to convey with it. Later I also met the man who really inspired Jiraiya's dream, Nagato from Amegakure. He hoped that one day there would be a way to protect your friends without killing anyone else.”

The woman's look got blank, and Naruto remembered that in Music Town there were few situations where people needed to protect their friends by fighting, or even worse, by killing someone else. 

“Nagato felt for his enemies too, and therefore he dreamt of peace,” Naruto continued. “Jiraiya felt inspired by his dream, and thus he wrote the Gutsy Ninja, and my father, the fourth Hokage, felt inspired by the story's message too, and so I got named after the Gutsy Ninja.”

He paused, thought for some seconds, then he continued: “So with my father and with my teacher dreaming of peace it's become my dream too. It's my heritage, and I will do everything to make the dream come true.”

“And what do you think? Will you be able to achieve it?” 

“I will,” Naruto answered, smiling and leaning back. “If I wouldn't believe it's possible I might give up already, but giving up has never been an option for me. I will succeed in making the world a better and more peaceful place.” 

The journalist remained sceptical. “But how are you going to achieve it?” she asked. “I mean, there's always been wars. People have always been given to hatred and selfishness and fear of strangers.”

Naruto shook his head. “It's true, people have always been fighting. They've always hated whom they feared, and were hated by them in return. There's always been a circle of violence among the ninja countries, and no one was able to break the chain of hatred. But I will. People will learn to understand each other, and then there won't be any more war.”

He watched Sasuke getting nervous. The journalist looked irritated. 

“People will see that they all suffer in the same way, and they will stop hating each other,” he continued.

“But is this not a bit naive?” the photographer now asked. “There's always been conflicts, and you cannot simply make vanish the grudges people hold against each other.”

“It's Jiraiya's dream, and I'll stick to it, even if people consider it naive. I'll not stop believing that people are able to live in peace.”

The women looked at each other. Both took another sip of tea. Naruto felt that he had not made much progress in convincing them of his dream.

Sasuke decided now to come to his support. “You may think that Naruto's dream of peace is naive because you in Music Town don't have any serious problems. You look at the ninja countries and think that in a society that's still dominated by clans and tribes under a thin layer of formal structures and modern institutions war is the natural state of affairs. You develop theories to explain why some ninja village attacked its rival, and think it impossible that one day these patterns might change. But people who've lived through war and survived it know about its real horrors. They know that without peace there is no chance for happiness, and to them a dream of everlasting peace is not naive, but a vision and an aim to strive for.”

The two journalists turned to him. It took them a few seconds to adopt to the new situation.

“I understand that peace is vital to everyone, and most of all to people who have survived war. But the question is whether you think it possible to achieve it.”

“Of course I do,” Sasuke replied. “People in other parts of the world have managed, so why shouldn't we? Ninja aren't more stupid than other people.”

“So you think it's possible to avoid all conflict?” 

“It's possible to avoid the fighting. The ninja countries have managed to avoid war for about twenty years now, and there's no reason why they shouldn't continue on that path.”

“But hasn't it always been the same? After a war there's a time of peace, and when the ninja countries have recovered their strength there's a new war.”

“They would need to ensure that this doesn't happen.”

“But how can that be?” 

“Well, first, they'd need some viable peace treaties. Not only treaties about borders and territories, but also treaties for free trade and for travelling freely. When people see the advantages of these treaties they'll stop longing for war.”

“You think this is possible?”

Sasuke shrugged. He wasn't prepared for this interview, but he felt the need to support Naruto, who was obviously even less prepared to answer the journalist's critical questions.

“Some such treaties have already been signed,” he said. “Just recently there was a cooperation treaty between Rock and Sand, with trade agreements and plans to exchange experts to share experiences about negotiations with private employers.”

“And you think that this will last, and not become obsolete when there's a new war?” 

Sasuke shrugged again. “People feel bound by treaties they consider fair. I've learnt this when I watched football matches here in Music Town. People cheat but they accept punishment when they're caught. They know that if they don't the match will be over.”

The journalist was perplexed, and silent for about a minute. Sasuke realized that in order to win this game he did not have to say something particularly wise or intelligent, but mostly something that was weird and off-hand so that the journalist would not know how to react. 

“But what if people don't want to play?” she finally asked. “What if they consider the most recent peace treaty not fair?”

“Then they'll have to renegotiate it. That's what people in other areas of the world do.”

Again the journalist was silent for several seconds.

“Do you think that people in the ninja countries are ready to accept this? After all they've been fighting each other since their foundation. People got killed, and their loved ones blame other countries for their death. Grudges and distrust have been growing for about a century.”

“But they know that their own armies killed people of the other side too, don't they?” 

“They do. But this was always only because the other side started the war.”

This time Sasuke had to think.

“But only those who didn't start the war can argue in this way.”

“Everyone tells their own version of how the war started. Just compare history books from different countries.”

“I have only read those from Music Town,” Sasuke said. “In Konoha we weren't taught any history at all. Don't history books in Music Town tell the truth?” 

“Our historians do their best to find out the truth,” the journalist acceded. “And I don't doubt that in the academies of the ninja countries too there's historians who are mainly motivated by their desire to find out the truth. Still there's a huge pressure from the daimyou to present the history of the ninja countries in a way that makes their own country look good.”

Sasuke had never thought about this, and it took him quite some time to come up with a solution.

“Why don't historians unite, and stand up against the pressure from their daimyou? That's what they do in other areas of the world: Historians from different countries meet, they exchange views and research results, they grant each other access to their countries' archives. Like that together they find out who started it all, and then this is taught to the population, and conflicts and grudges are no longer passed down from generation to generation.”

Again he had managed to silence the journalist for several seconds.

“You make it seem very easy,” she finally said. “So if it's that easy, why hasn't peace been achieved by now?”

“It has been achieved. The ninja countries have been at peace for the last twenty years. People want peace, after all. They know that cooperation is more profitable than fighting.”

Not only the two reporters but also Naruto was looking at him now. Sasuke felt inspired and excited and went on talking, developing his ideas as he went along. 

“I've read what your scholars wrote about the Gutsy Ninja. They consider the book trivial because its only message is that cooperation is better than fighting, and no one needs Jiraiya to learn this. But when I say people know it and that therefore techniques from other areas of the world might work here too you stare at me as if this was completely ridiculous. We don't only have to learn from other continents even. We have our own traditions too, or the ninja countries would not have been able to end the continent wide civil war some eighty years ago. We just have to dig out these traditions.”

“But only a few years after the foundation of the modern ninja countries the first ninja world war started,” the journalist said. “The peace that was achieved then did not last long.”

Now Sasuke had to think how to continue.

“The main obstacle to peace are people like Danzou,” he said, “whether they act from the shadows or whether they have become Hokage and move in the spotlight. People like him perceive everything in strategic terms, they see threats everywhere and make their fellow-citizens see these threats too, and their only way to deal with a threat is to annihilate it. They feel entitled to attack other countries, maybe even successfully at first, but they don't hold in mind that wars have a tendency to escalate. Naruto told you of Nagato, who was the true model for the Gutsy Ninja: He trusted Danzou, and this was the ruin of his dreams. If people want peace they need to learn to recognize figures as Danzou, and not fall in for them. They need to learn that men as Danzou need to be put to trial, not be made Hokage. That's what civilized people do.”

Sasuke had run out of words, but he was very content with himself. He smiled. Naruto was mostly glad that Sasuke had stopped talking and that he could speak again. 

“If people elsewhere are able to learn to trust each other and to understand that we are all human, people in the ninja countries will be able to do the same. We will be able to create peace in the ninja countries. Just look at the letters I receive from everywhere: if all these people who share Jiraiya's dream unite we will be able to achive peace.”

The journalist smiled. “We hope that you are right,” she said. “We all need true sustainable peace, after all, don't we?” 

She switched off the tape recorder. “I mean it,” she said. “If I asked you some critical questions it was because I wanted you to come up with some concrete suggestions about how to create peace. But don't worry: It will be all okay. You are seventeen, idealistic and good-looking. People like that. They don't expect you to come up with a solution to one of the oldest problems of mankind. If you want to come across a bit wiser, and if it's okay to you both, we will make it appear as if some of your friend's answers were actually yours.”

Naruto felt humiliated, and now also offended. “I don't need that,” he said. “Print exactly what we said, and make clear who said what. Sasuke's my boy-friend, but we don't agree about everything. I want people to know what I myself think.” 

The woman shrugged. “As you wish.” She finished her tea and got up. Her colleague followed her. “You'll find the interview in the next issue of Urban Lady. We wish you success with your dream of creating peace. We really do.”

Both boys felt empty and exhausted after the women's departure when they were tidying up and doing the dishes. 

“They don't believe in peace,” Sasuke said. “Peace in the ninja countries, I mean. For them peace in Music Town is enough.” 

Naruto was busy with something else. “You did not have to speak up for me,” he said. “I can speak for myself.”

Then he embraced Sasuke and kissed him and rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder.

“I'll help you with your plans for peace,” Sasuke said. “Danzou will be put to trial. That's what civilized people do.”


	110. Chapter One Hundred and Seven: Consequences

Naruto was not in the best mood during the days after the interview. He knew pretty well that the interview had not gone well and that it would have gone even worse if Sasuke had not intervened. He began to see that those who criticized him might have a point – that his ideas about peace were still a bit too simple. He began to doubt himself, and his capacity of creating peace. 

Things got even worse when on the Friday after the interview there was an argument among the kids they were supposed to teach taijutsu. Naruto didn't even know what it was all about: they were already fighting and shouting insults at each other when he arrived at the place. They were quite out of their mind, and Naruto tried to talk to them, telling them that they had got along well the week before and that this week they should be friends too. They just continued shouting at each other as if Naruto had not said anything, and when Naruto tried to take one boy by the shoulder the boys simply shook it off. 

Sasuke managed to end the argument by taking one boy's arm and not allowing him to shake it off, while at the same time he kept the other kid from hurting him. “You stop fighting,” he said, using his strict policeman's voice.

Naruto felt hurt: normally these kids would get along well with him, they listened to him and respected him and liked him more than Sasuke, who was only good with small kids, and altogether too stiff and not cool enough for the older ones. 

They were relieved by one of the women who organized the project. “Now, what happened?” she asked the kids and took them to the side. Later she talked to Naruto: “You call me when there's trouble. You don't have to resolve such a situation all by yourself.”

Seeing Naruto's frustration she added: “Don't expect yourself to be able to deal with it. It's not easy, you're young yourself, and you haven't been trained to deal with children. You can teach them taijutsu, but it's natural that you can't cope with difficult situations. There's seminars to learn this – you can participate in one of them if your job allows it.”

Naruto had felt even worse. People here didn't even trust him to cope with a conflict among kids. 

In the evening he and Sasuke went to the gay community center for open dance training. There were women present (actually more than men), and a young couple, younger even than Sasuke and Naruto themselves, had brought the Urban Lady. They were busy reading it, holding it in a way that made sure that everyone saw the line “Interview with the Gutsy Ninja” on the title page. Occasionally they looked at Sasuke and Naruto and smiled at them, making Naruto feel irritated while Sasuke reacted like he had reacted as a little boy when he had suspected a girl to take a romantic interest in him: he looked cold and aloof. (He had learnt to get along with his new classmates by now, and he had actually come to like the young women at the riverside, but these two girls who looked at him and grinned and giggled as if they were twelve-year-old best friends and not a lesbian couple made him return to his old patterns of behaviour.) 

People got aware of the two girls, first some of the women, but they were much too serious and busy with their own lives and their own jobs to take any interest in Sasuke and Naruto, then the men too. The magazine got passed around, and even though Naruto asked for it, wanting to read the article first, everybody else got to have a look at it before it got near to him and Sasuke. 

“You really should pose more often,” they were told. “Though it's a waste that you do it for a women's magazine. There's lots of magazines for gay men too.”

They knew these magazines by now, and they knew that contrary to Urban Lady they were not about fashion. They were resolved not to model for them. They were glad when the guy from Earth Country got the magazine and allowed them to look over his shoulders while he read the article. 

“Our Ninja enjoy the possibilities of Music Town, but they still long for Konoha,” was written below a photo that showed them sitting on the lawn of Heroes' Park, with the Town Hall and the Main Temple in the background. They were not holding hands, but they only had their arms around their shoulders.

“Having applied for citizenship they need to learn to dance. They think it's fun,” they read below a photo that showed them in front of the community center. 

“They should have taken a photo of you dancing,” the guy from Earth Country said. 

“They took some,” Sasuke replied. “Somehow none of them made it into the article.” 

He turned the page to see whether he was wrong, but there was no picture of him and Naruto dancing with each other. Except for the photo that had been taken in the dojo they all showed them with their hands around each other's shoulders, never holding hands, never leaning against each other, and of course none of the pictures showed them kissing, in short, no photo made unambiguously clear that they were lovers, not friends.

“Do they mention anywhere in the text that we are gay?” he asked the guy from Earth Country who had already finished the article. 

“They don't state it clearly. But with you touching each other on every picture people may begin to wonder.”

“I don't want them to wonder. I want them to know.”

“You should have thought about this before you gave an interview to a woman's magazine. With a gay magazine you would not have run into such a problem. With a women's magazine you should have expected them to take photos that keep their readership interested in you – they will give some hints that you might be gay, as some women find this interesting, but they won't state it clearly, implying that you are out of reach.” 

“But I want them to know that Naruto's out of reach,” Sasuke said. “He's getting a couple of love letters every evening even without the interview, and now I fear that it will get worse.” 

“Probably you'll even get some of your own.”

“That was his true aim,” Naruto joined the conversation. “He won't admit it, but he wanted some females to tell him that they want his baby.”

“We don't have time for a baby,” Sasuke replied, knowing that everything else he might say would only be regarded as another attempt to deny it. 

The guy from Earth Country turned the page. “Now, let's see what they write here: The Gutsy Ninja explains his ideas about peace.” 

They read together: Sasuke, Naruto and the guy from Earth Country, then the guy from Earth Country passed the magazine to his husband who had not been able to look into it too.

“Now that's some interesting political ideas,” he said. 

Sasuke felt embarrassed. He sensed that the man actually considered them rather naive. He knew that during the interview he had spoken without much thinking, and now he anxiously watched the man's husband reading the article, waiting for his judgement.

“Don't idealize people from other countries,” the man said when he had finished. “They have their civilization, but there's good and evil people in other parts of the world too. In other parts of the world there's war too, and political oppression, and it's just as cruel as in the ninja countries.”

“But there's peace too, and peace that has lasted for decades, and sometimes even centuries, longer than any of the ninja countries have managed.”

“But it's not the durable peace Naruto dreams of. Also, what you say about putting people as Danzou to trial: Normally this takes generations. There's enough heads of states like Danzou in the rest of the world too.”

“But in the end they'll be put to trial.”

“Or they die from some natural cause. That's the most likely fate of Danzou too, even if you manage to make him resign from office.”

Sasuke didn't answer. 

“Even if you manage to make him step down there will still be a lot of people who support him, and they will demand immunity from prosecution as precondition for his surrender. You'll be an old man when your family gets rehabilitated, and Danzou and his allies will be long dead then.”

“Naruto and I will see that this doesn't happen,” Sasuke replied. 

“Don't. Don't overestimate your power.”

The man put his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. “Stay in Music Town. Here people like you.”

On their way home Sasuke and Naruto bought a copy of Urban Lady too. They sat down on a park bench and read a second time what had become of their interview. In print their words seemed more naive than when spoken. They didn't notice the figure that was approaching them.

“So here you're hiding.”

Both boys looked up, immediately recognizing the voice from their former life. It belonged to the Akatsuki with the mask.

“You're enjoying life, I see.”

“I do,” Sasuke answered. His arm had been lying loosely around Naruto, now he pressed him against himself. 

“You're no longer planning to take revenge against Konoha,” the Akatsuki continued.

“I still plan to take revenge against Danzou,” Sasuke replied. “I'm busy working out what will be the best plan.”

“You're busy enjoying life. Your parents and your brother would be very disappointed and sad that you have forgotten about them.”

“My parents are proud that I learn to deal out justice the way a policeman does. They know that this takes time.”

“They know you're wasting your time. You've even abandoned your plan of refounding your clan, thinking only of your own pleasure.”

He pointed at Naruto who had his arm around Sasuke too, holding Sasuke's free hand with his own. He felt the kyuubi getting nervous within him, and he had difficulties calming it down.

“There's enough females who will carry a child for us and give birth to it,” Sasuke said. “Continuing the clan won't be a problem. - How did you find out about us anyway?” 

The Akatsuki with the mask – Uchiha Madara, Sasuke remembered – reached under his cape and produced a copy of Urban Lady. “You told everyone in the ninja countries.”

Sasuke leant back, smiling, knowing that now he had the upper hand. “I didn't expect you to read Urban Lady.”

“Kisame reads it,” Madara replied. “You have developed some interesting ideas about how to deal with Danzou.”

“It's not my ideas,” Sasuke answered. “It's how people from civilized countries deal with such a man.”

Madara didn't answer, giving Naruto a chance to speak. “Who's that man?” he asked Sasuke. “Is he the one who told you that Danzou ordered your brother to murder the clan? Is he the one who ordered you to abduct Killerbee?”

“He's Uchiha Madara,” Sasuke answered. “And he didn't order me, and I didn't abduct Killerbee.”

Naruto didn't react to this. “What does he want” he asked. “He wants me, or rather the kyuubi, doesn't he? And he wants Killerbee too.”

Sasuke shook his head. “He wants me,” he said. “He promised me the bijuu, if I caught the Hachibi, but such a deal doesn't make sense, as he gains nothing from it. So I myself was the price, wasn't I?” He was looking at Madara now. “In following your plans I was to become yours. It's like what people here tell me about the police: they offer to train me as a policeman, and the price is that I will become theirs. But I prefer to be theirs to being yours.”

Madara didn't reply. 

“He's still after the kyuubi,” Naruto said. “I feel it.”

“You're right, I'm after the kyuubi,” Madara answered. “But not today, so don't be afraid. Today I only want to talk.”

Naruto looked surprised, then confused, then he began to giggle uncontrollably. 

“It really runs in the family,” he said. “Just like when you said: today I only want to kiss, not to have sex.”

He kissed Sasuke on his cheek. “I'm glad you changed your mind.” 

It took Sasuke some time to remember the situation. “I'm glad too,” he answered, kissing Naruto back. He kept looking out for Madara, expecting an attack any moment, but it didn't happen. Having no one to talk to Madara soon disappeared.


	111. Chapter One Hundred Eight: The Raikage's Offer

The next morning, when they were still lying in bed, the boys discussed what had happened and what they were going to do. They agreed not to tell the locals about Madara in order not to worry them.

“He's after the two of us, the people of Music Town aren't of any significance to him,” they told each other. 

“What do you know about his powers?” Naruto asked. 

“He's extremely good at space-time ninjutsu,” Sasuke answered. 

“That's what we in Konoha know too. I once fought him, actually, together with my team, and he used his space—time-jutsu to evade every attack.” 

“Else it seems that talking is his greatest talent,” Sasuke continued. “He used this to trick me into forming an alliance with him. It won't work a second time, however, as now I know the truth about good and evil.”

He was lying on his back, with Naruto looking down on him and smiling. 

“He can no longer tempt me with the bijuu,” he said, reaching out to caress Naruto's face. “I want you alive, and as a human being.”

He drew Naruto down to him, they kissed and caressed each others' chests and legs, and then they were busy having sex and forgot about Madara. (It was Saturday morning and they had time for this.) 

Naruto again contacted the kyuubi, trying to persuade him to be less aggressive towards Sasuke. “He'll protect me,” he said. “He won't let us fall into the hands of Akatsuki.”

It was the day of Killerbee's concert, so as promised in the evening they went there to help carry stuff. The guy from Earth Country also went to the concert, taking his husband with him. Contrary to Sasuke and Naruto he genuinely liked Killerbee's music (his husband preferred conventional rock, while Naruto liked best the music that was accompanied by guitars so that he could sing to it himself. Sasuke still considered loud music torture.)

So when they had finished carrying stuff Sasuke and Naruto went to meet their friends at the entrance hall, with the intention of sitting next to them in the stalls, but Killerbee found them and urged all four of them to follow him to some VIP lounge. There was already a couple sitting there. 

“This is the young man to whom I owe my happiness,” Killerbee introduced Sasuke. “And this is Naruto, his boy-friend, and the jinchuuriki of Konoha, and these are – two other friends.” He turned to Sasuke. “This is my brother, the Raikage, with his wife. I've always planned to invite him to my first important concert in Music Town, not in some cellar but on the big stage. Now he can see that I've found happiness here, and that my music gives happiness to people.”

Sasuke and the Raikage greeted each other, and Killerbee told his brother that Naruto was Jiraiya's heir and responsible for the new edition of the Gutsy Ninja. 

“My wife is a great fan of Icha-Icha,” the Raikage said. “She is very sorry that there won't be a new sequel. She says that when it comes to romance Jiraiya was better than any female writer.” 

The wife blushed. She had tried to flirt with Naruto for some time now, but Naruto had pretended not to notice. 

A new person arrived in the VIP-lounge, Killerbee's girl-friend. She and Killerbee kissed each other for almost a minute, making use of the fact that this was considered appropriate in Music Town, then Killerbee laid his arm around her and introduced her to his brother.

“She's my love and everything,” he said. “She and music are more important to me than anything else.” 

The Raikage had been staring at the couple from the time of the woman's entrance, horrified or fascinated by the couple's kiss. Even after being introduced to the woman it took him some time before he was able to speak. 

“You know my brother's a jinchuuriki,” he said.

“He told me so quite at the beginning of our relationship.”

“You know that for a jinchuuriki his first love always has to be his village, and that my brother will return to Kumo in case of danger.” 

She nodded, but then she said: “He's a naturalized citizen of Music Town now. His loyalty is no longer only for Kumo.”

The Raikage frowned, but he didn't answer.

“There's no danger of a new war these days, so this isn't a problem,” Killerbee said. 

The Raikage pretended not to listen and kept talking to the woman.

“You also know that a jinchuuriki shouldn't marry? It would mean the end of Music Town if the Hachibi got out of control.”

“It won't happen,” the woman said. “I've met the Hachibi. It won't get out of control. Killerbee has tamed it well.”

She laid her arms around her lover's hips. “I don't care what you say. I will stay with him.”

“You are courageous, and you seem to love my brother,” the Raikage said. “Still you are acting irresponsibly like a fool. I cannot give you any orders, but in consideration of your own town you should give up your love.”

“You can't give either of us any orders, or any advice,” Killerbee said. “We are both citizens of Music Town, and both of us know more about the Hachibi than you ever will. You should wish me happiness, and welcome her as your sister.”

The Raikage didn't answer.

“The concert starts soon,” Killerbee said. “I need to go downstairs. You have some time to becomes friends now.”

The guy from Earth Country made room for the girl-friend and she sat down next to him.

“Don't worry, everything will work out fine,” he said. “Is that the first time you attend a concert of Killerbee?” 

“The first big concert,” she answered, and then she made conversation with the two locals until the music started.

Not only to Sasuke, but also to Naruto the music seemed simply loud, particularly in the lower end of the spectrum with frequencies that they rather felt than heard. The rhythm was harsh and monotonous (nothing they could dance to), and the vocals sounded more like shouting than singing. People downstairs, however, had begun to dance, and the guy from Earth Country and the girl-friend had got up and were now cheering for Killerbee. The Raikage followed their example. 

“That's my brother,” he said. “People are celebrating him because his music is louder than everybody else's.”

They spent the break in the entrance hall, eating peanuts and drinking some champagne (paid for by the Raikage.) 

“My brother has written to me, asking me to unfreeze your bank account and give you access to your money,” he said to Sasuke. “I'll do it gladly, of course, and I also contacted the other kages to coordinate our policy in that matter. Danzou won't be happy of course, but that's not our business. He'll have to solve his problems in Konoha by himself: we no longer support him by sending back deserters and rogue nin, or killing them ourselves, so there's also no reason for us to support the measures he's taken against the Uchiha clan. We hope that you will restore your clan to its ancient glory, and if you need more money, just tell us, we'll lend you some.”

“Yes, thanks,” Sasuke answered. He felt dizzy, confused by the Raikage's unexpected offer. He had been content being no longer considered a rogue nin in Music Town, but being no longer regarded a rogue nin by the ninja countries as well (except Konoha itself) was a new quality. Danzou, not him, was the outcast now. 

“Together we will show Danzou that his power is limited and that the end of his days as Hokage is approaching,” the Raikage continued.

Sasuke felt even dizzier. 

The husband of the guy from Earth Country took his hand and pressed it. “Your offer is very generous,” he told the Raikage, “but Sasuke does not need any of your money, just access to his own, so that he may use it for his education in Music Town. He does not need much of it either, as the town supports him too, but he needs to be on a more equal footing with Naruto, who's the heir of Icha-Icha. So I guess it's best if he's granted access to just a limited amount of money every month.”

Sasuke gasped.

“I also want to make clear that Sasuke won't use the money to confront Konoha,” the man continued. “If necessary we'll make this public so that Danzou knows this too.”

Sasuke gasped again.

“Who are you that you speak like this?” the Raikage asked.

“I'm his legal guardian. According to the laws of Music Town Sasuke is still underage, meaning that he needs a guardian, and this happens to be me.”

Sasuke was furious, but the man just kept talking, telling the Raikage about Sasuke's plans to become a policeman, allowing no one to interrupt him. Against his will Sasuke was impressed by the way the man did not let himself be intimidated, even though the Raikage was much taller, stronger and heavier than him, and without doubt a formidable ninja. It's not just the women in this place, Sasuke thought, it's the men too.

The start of the second half of the concert ended the conversation. Sasuke and the husband of the guy from Earth Country stayed behind while the rest of the group returned to their lounge. 

“Calm down before you join them,” the man said. “Otherwise you won't be able to enjoy the music.”

Sasuke did his best, calming down to a level that allowed him to speak. “What do you think gives you the right to decline the Raikage's offer in my name?” 

“You gave me the right, when you asked me to be your guardian.”

“But this is not what we agreed on. I asked you to be my guardian because this was a requirement from Music Town if I wanted to get accepted as a refugee, and I needed someone to sign documents for me, like the application form for the library card, and later my contract with the training center of the police. I never asked you to make important decisions in my stead.”

The man shrugged. “You are free to decide for yourself once you are eighteen,” he said. “It's less than a year from now. But if you are wise you will then decline the Raikage's offer from your own accord. The Raikage is not a bad person, but he's not selfless either. There will be a price to pay if you accept his money, even if he does not say this. He will believe that he has a say in how you run affairs in Konoha, as you are indebted to him.”

Sasuke was silent. He felt that the man had a point. 

“You also should think of Naruto. He wants to be Hokage, after all, but not Hokage by grace of the Raikage's approval. He'll want to be able to decide what's best for Konoha without considering the Raikage's wishes. He'll want to be accepted and respected by the people of Konoha, and this is not possible if there's any doubt on his complete unwavering loyalty to Konoha.”

Sasuke knew that Naruto was loyal to Konoha and would always be so. He knew also that it was important that the people of Konoha had this impression too. Being financed by the Railage would signify a severe stain on Naruto's reputation. 

“You will have to drive Danzou out of office on your own. Though honestly I still think it's best if you stay in Music Town and wait until he dies by himself. He's old, you're young: it cannot take very long.”

Sasuke was silent, even though he still hated the idea of Danzou dying from a natural cause. He had suddenly remembered Itachi and the fact that the Uchiha had been killed for allegedly inviting other countries to invade Konoha. Accepting the Raikage's offer he'd do exactly the same.

“You use the time until you're of age to consider my words, so that you come to a wise decision regarding the Raikage's offer. Also you should not decide on your own but discuss your decision with Naruto, as he will be affected by it too.”

Sasuke had nothing to answer, and silently they returned to the rest of the group in their VIP-lounge. The concert had already restarted, but Sasuke was not very sorry that he had missed the first song.

After the concert he and Naruto helped to tidy up, and to get the equipment back to the place Killerbee's band used for rehearsals. When they had half-finished Killerbee told them to leave and go to the club where he, his band and associated friends and family would celebrate the concert. “I've always been alone on these occasions,” he said. “Others brought their friends and their parents and their wives, and sometimes their grandparents and their three-month-old babies, but I never had anyone. So you go too, so that everyone sees that I have some friends now who don't care about rap.” 

The boys smiled, but Sasuke declined. “It's not possible – I need to talk to you on an important matter when we are on our own.”

Killerbee shrugged, and both Sasuke and Naruto kept carrying stuff until everything was where it needed to be. (They also slowly learnt about cables, microphones, amplifiers and loudspeakers, and also about the different musical instruments.) Then they waited for Killerbee to send the other helpers to the place where the party had already started. 

“Now what is it that you want to talk about?” Killerbee asked. “Have you reconsidered my brother's offer?” 

Sasuke shook his head. “It's pointless until I'm eighteen. According to the laws of Music Town I cannot make such an important decision while I am still a minor.”

“You can leave Music Town,” Killerbee said. “You'll have to anyway when you set out to Konoha to fight Danzou. Then you're no longer bound by Music Town's laws.” 

Sasuke considered it. He'd be a rogue nin again, even though the other kages had promised to support him. Their support did not imply that he belonged to any of their villages. He enjoyed belonging to Music Town, actually. He had not cared about no longer belonging to Konoha when he had left the village, as he had been lonely there too, his heart burning with anger, hatred and pain, but he did not feel like that here, and he wanted to remain a prospective citizen of Music Town. 

He had a bad conscience that he tended to forget about avenging his clan. 

“I'll decide by myself,” he said, closing the subject. “Now what I wanted to talk about: What may I do for you as compensation for my attack against you, and my attempt to deliver you to Akatsuki?”

Killerbee had not expected this, and it took him some seconds before he was able to answer.

“You invited me to a glass of beer, didn't you?” 

“That's not an adequate compensation for attempted murder.”

“Then what do you think might be an adequate compensation for attempted murder?” 

Sasuke was silent, realizing the inappropriateness of his suggestion.

“I was told to offer you compensation,” he said finally, feeling lame, and a bit ashamed. “That's what people here demand of young criminals.”

“But not for murder, or even attempted murder,” Killerbee replied.

“No, normally not. Normally it's only compensation for petty theft, or breaking a shop window pane, or painting graffiti where this is not allowed.” (He had learnt about this as part of his training.) 

“People here think that ninja are primivite and still follow the ancient laws that say that a life can be bought with money,” Killerbee said. “But it can't, and even in ancient times blood money was just a way to prevent a chain of revenge being set off.”

“I didn't speak of money,” Sasuke said. “I spoke of doing something for you.” 

“What might you do for me that can be called adequate compensation for attempting to kill me?,” Killerbee said, and then he answered his own question: “I guess you'd need to become my lifelong slave for a compensation that's really adequate. Naruto won't be happy with that. Now come on – they are waiting for us at the party.”


	112. Chapter One Hundred Nine: Revenge

They celebrated into the small hours of the morning, and the next day, a Sunday, Sasuke and Naruto slept in. When they had finally woken up (and after some love-making) Sasuke decided to discuss the Raikage's offer with Naruto.

“Do you think we should accept it?” he asked. “Next year when we're of age, I mean? Or even earlier – if we return to Konoha we don't have to worry about the laws of Music Town.”

Naruto considered it. The evening before the offer bad been made to Sasuke, and it had been declined rather quickly by the guardian, so that he, Naruto, had not had the time to form an opinion. Now he did.

“What do you want to use the money for?” he asked. “Concretely, I mean. Mercenary soldiers to conquer Konoha? We don't need that.” He thought a bit, then he continued: “We are extremely strong by ourselves, aren't we? I have defeated Pain, who destroyed Konoha all by himself, and you fought a couple of powerful opponents too. Together we can even use the kyuubi.” It came to his mind that in fact the kyuubi might be easier to control than a bunch of mercenary soldiers. “But that's not what we want. We don't want to destroy Konoha. We want to drive Danzou out of office and make him pay for what he did to you and your family.”

Sasuke sat up. (Naruto had done so already.) 

“You won't gain the office of Hokage by dirty tricks or by brute force,” he said. “You'll be a different kind of Hokage.” 

“So we'll decline the Raikage's offer until we've found a way to use the money that's wiser than hiring an army of mercenary soldiers.” 

“We'll decline the offer,” Sasuke repeated, glad that he had found a way to do this without appearing weak or cowardly in his own eyes.

For lunch they were again invited by Juugo's fostermothers. They told them about the Raikage's offer, and the two women also approved of their decision to decline it.

“You want to reestablish the police of Konoha, don't you?” they reminded Sasuke. “You shouldn't return without having learnt how to do this.”

Sasuke realized that not only Naruto but he himself, too, would need legitimacy and trust to accomplish his plans. Driving Danzou out of office by brute force would not be helpful.

The two women also asked the boys how it had come that they had visited a rap concert even though they didn't like rap. Naruto explained to them that Sasuke had listened to it as some kind of atonement for attacking one of the musicians with the intention of delivering him to Akatsuki. He said it in a humorous tone, and only when the women fell silent and stared at Sasuke he remembered that they had not heard this story before. Sasuke wished he could hide somewhere, but he couldn't, and so he only lowered his eyes. After some seconds of silence he hesitatingly told his story. 

“I was desperate at the time,” he said. “Now I know that I was wrong.”

“When did that happen?” one of the women asked. 

“About half a year ago.” 

“And before that you lived at that evil place Juugo told us about.”

“Yes.” 

“So you weren't well looked after for several years during a most sensitive time of your life,” she said. “No wonder you went astray. But now there's people around you who care.”

Sasuke felt not comforted but humiliated by these words. He explained to the women that the police already knew about the attack and that they had decided not to put him on trial for political reasons. They considered the decision correct. 

“You've never had a chance of dealing with the crimes against your family in a healthy way,” they said. “But now you do.”

Sasuke felt even worse offended. He told the women of his meeting with the social worker, and that he had told him to offer compensation to Killerbee but that Killerbee had declined that offer. 

They understood Killerbee's reaction: “Just continue to help him on occasions as yesterday,” they said. 

They also insisted on accompanying the boys to their next appointment with the social worker. Sasuke felt uncomfortable with this decision, even worse reduced to his status of a minor, but he did not know how to stop them.

So on the next day they turned up at the training center during the boys' lunch break to pick them up for the appointment with the social worker, which was even more embarrassing, as no other student's parents had ever appeared at the training center. When they arrived at the social worker's office he also wondered when he saw them enter. 

“They're my legal guardian and her partner,” Sasuke introduced them.

“Being responsible for Sasuke now we considered it appropriate that we should get to know you,” the guardian's partner said. 

The social worker agreed to her and welcomed both women. 

“We've understood that you and Sasuke have come to an understanding to pretend that he is on parole, as it is not possible to put him on trial. It's well-meant, but it's not necessary. We've known Sasuke for a few months now, and he's always been friendly and helpful, caring a lot for our kids. He also cares a lot about his boy-friend, and at the time of his arrival in Music Town he had even taken responsibility for a young boy who had been his fellow prisoner at some evil person's place. He has a good heart, and it's obvious that he only attacked that Killerbee because at the time he was confused and disoriented without having anyone to share his emotions with, someone who might have put things into perspective and told him that attacking a man he had never seen was not an acceptable way to deal with his suffering.”

Sasuke felt embarrassed. The social worker looked irritated, and Naruto felt confused too. 

The other woman took over: “But now these times are over, and we're looking after him. He has understood that there's appropriate ways of dealing with his pain, and he has learnt that there's people who care. So there's no need to act as if he was on parole. He won't commit any crime. We'll see to it.”

She paused in order to breathe, and the social worker used the opportunity to answer. 

“If you say so... It's not as if I was bored for any lack of regular clients who are really on parole. If you think you can look after him it's all okay to me.”

The women were silent. People here fight with words, Sasuke realized, and the social worker had fought like a true ninja, not offering any resistance but letting the women waste their energy in a futile attack.

“So we meant to thank you for taking time to talk to Sasuke,” the guardian's partner continued. “But really it's not necessary.”

“It was a pleasure,” the social worker replied. They all got up, ready to leave. “So my best wishes to all of you.”

Sasuke felt annoyed, disappointed and a bit humiliated, and he was thinking feverishly. When the group had already left the building and closed the doors behind them he told the women and Naruto that he had forgotten something inside and returned to the social worker. He was still standing in the entrance hall, chatting with the secretary and enjoying the unexpected break. He looked up at Sasuke. 

“I'd like to meet you again,” Sasuke said. “There's a couple of questions I need to ask you.”

“You're welcome,” the man answered, and together they had a look at the big calendar and found a day and a time for a new appointment.

It happened that on that day Sasuke was on late shift so that he returned much later to his and Naruto's place than Naruto. When he did so he saw that they had visitors: A man and a woman were sitting at their table while Naruto was leaning against the window-sill, and they looked as if they had not been talking, but silently waiting for Sasuke. There were several newspapers lying on the table. 

“You got your revenge,” Naruto told Sasuke instead of saying hello, passing him one of the newspapers: Right on top there was a picture of Danzou and the councillors. Sasuke felt confused, not only by the picture, but also by Naruto's behaviour. He looked at him, hoping for some explanations, but he did not get any. He turned to the article itself.

Mitokado Homura, grey eminence in Konoha and councillor of three subsequent Hokages, has passed away.

The administration's speaker informs us in a press release that he died from a heart attack. He was suffering from heart problems for several years, and required medication for them, so his death is no surprise. Rumours, however say that the heart attack is a consequence of the interview with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke recently published in Urban Lady. Allegedly it was the shock to read that both of them are alive, in alliance and ready to confront the military regime of Konoha that's responsible for his death. 

The article continued telling about Homura's career and his achievements for Konoha, but to Sasuke's satisfaction it was also critical of what it called his hawkish attitude. 

He did not feel triumphant at all, rather weird. This was not how he had imagined his revenge. Also he felt as if everyone around him was blaming him for Homura's death.

“How am I supposed to know that Homura reads Urban Lady?” he asked. 

The faces of the visitors remained icy.

“Some of his female acquaintances might have read it, and showed him the interview,” the man said. “Or the censors in Konoha may have laid their hands on the magazine. You can't expect such an interview to remain hidden.”

“But I couldn't know about Homura's heart problems,” Sasuke continued defending himself. “It's not my fault that he died.” 

“We don't blame you,” the woman said. “But we think that you – both of you – should be more careful when it comes to giving interviews. You need to be aware that such an interview will be read throughout the ninja world.”

“We've also spoken to the editors of Urban Lady,” the man took over again. “They should have been more careful, instead of leaving all the important decisions to two half-grown boys.”

“You've been accepted as refugees by Music Town, and we stand by this decision,” the woman spoke again. “We will protect you, that is both of you, against any claim Konoha has on you. We are aware that you, Sasuke, would be most likely executed on your return, and that Naruto would be reduced to his function as jinchuuriki and turned into a mere weapon. We won't let that happen. Still we need to ask you to be more careful to keep in mind that what you say has consequences, not only for you, but for Music Town as well. We cannot afford any open confrontation with the Hokage. We'd prefer you to keep a low profile, and not to give any more interviews without taking counsel with representatives of the town.” 

“I only spoke about peace,” Naruto said.

“Speaking about peace, even if it's in a rather general and vague manner, is a provocation against Danzou. Everyone knows that since he took office he's preparing Konoha against an attack from one of the other ninja countries. Which gets us to another point. It's been in the news that the ninja countries, with the exception of Fire Country itself, are planning to unfreeze your bank accounts, and to offer you even more money. We want to inform you that Music Town won't serve you as a basis for plotting an assault against Konoha, and if you do so, your status as refugees will be withdrawn. Our neutrality is the basis of our security, and we don't want to see it questioned.”

“I don't need anybody else's money,” Sasuke said. “I only need access to what's my own.” He pointed at the room around them. “I still owe Naruto my share for the furniture and everything.”

The two people remained silent. 

“We've already discussed it among ourselves,” Sasuke continued. “We don't need any support from foreign countries.” 

The two people still remained silent.

“I'll make a public statement that we want to stay in Music Town, and that we'll use the money for my education, if you consider that necessary.”

He bit his lips: He had agreed not to accept the kages' money, and to be granted only a certain amount every month from what was his own, but making a public statement about it sounded like admitting defeat to Danzou – like crouching in the dust before him.

“It's not necessary,” the woman said, smiling faintly. “In your interview you've made clear that you like it here and that you want to stay. Just take counsel with the administration of Music Town before you give another interview.”


	113. Chapter One Hundred Ten: Necessary Sacrifices

It was only when the two people had left that Naruto told Sasuke who they were: Officials from the government of Music Town, only one or two levels below the mayor herself. To Sasuke, this came as a shock: just when he had begun to build himself a life he had managed to get into the focus of the administration here, too. He discussed it with his colleague when he was on patrol during the evening shift. 

“I've read the article and the interview,” she said. “The photos were nice, and you found some friendly words about Music Town. You shouldn't say, however, that what you like best about Music Town is that people here don't kill each other. It makes you appear quite weird and exotic.”

Sasuke asked more specifically whether she thought that he might get into trouble.

“Probably not. You are just some young immigrants. Urban Lady should get into trouble for exploiting your naivety, but they'll have their lawyers and spokespeople who will remind the administration that there's no censorship in Music Town and that they can print whatever they want. You are more intimidable, that's why they confronted you, not Urban Lady.”

By now Sasuke was used to being called naive, but being called intimidable was on another level. His initial impulse was to remind the woman that both he and Naruto were powerful shinobi and not easily intimidable, but then he remembered that both of them had been impresseed by the two officials. He wondered why the editors of Urban Lady would not have been impressed, but after some thinking he knew the answer: They knew about the law.

“Do you think it was my fault that Homura died?” he asked his colleague.

“Of course not,” she replied. “It was his own bad conscience. We discussed it during our lunch break, and we were all of the same opinion. I guess a lot of those in the administration would agree to us too, but they can't afford to speak openly because they don't want to offend Fire Country and Konoha. When Danzou requests that you should be delivered to Konoha they'll remind him that Homura died from his illness.”

Sasuke nodded: he felt content, but not completely. He did not trust Music Town to remain firm.

Naruto did not have to work that evening, and after spending some time alone in their flat, thinking about the two officials who had worried him too, he decided to go to the riverside and meet his and Sasuke's friends there.

“On your own today?” they asked. “What happened to Sasuke?” 

“He's working,” Naruto answered. 

They nodded understandingly, though they still wondered. Naruto had never before joined them on his own.

“We got into trouble,” he said when there was a break in the conversation. “It's because of the interview we gave to Urban Lady.” 

“I've read it,” one of the young women said. “My mother buys it regularly, and when I saw your picture I got curious. It was quite funny actually.” 

“For me it's serious,” Naruto replied. He wished that Sasuke was with him: He would have answered her in the appropriate arrogant tone. “We need peace in the ninja countries. It's the basis of everything else.”

The young people shrugged. “There's more important things,” one of the men said. “Sometimes you have to fight. You want to get rid of Danzou, don't you?”

“But not by openly attacking him. We could do it of course: we are strong enough. But we don't want Konoha in ruins, and we don't want to hurt anyone.”

“Sometimes sacrifices are unavoidable,” the man replied. 

“Not for us,” Naruto said. “We fight for the people of Konoha. We don't want to kill them.”

There was a silence of several minutes while he considered his friends' words. Looking up to the street he saw a dark figure under the trees – nothing suspicious, but still unusual, as normally people here did not hide but went to the riverside with their friends, chatting and not caring about being seen or heard. 

He then returned to his original subject: “We've run into trouble with the government of Music Town,” he said. “They reproached us with challenging Danzou.”

“I thought this was the purpose of the interview,” the woman who had read it said. “I thought you had decided not to stay hidden any more.”

“The government is full of cowards,” another man said. “Always balancing their relationships to the ninja countries, always careful not to offend anyone. They don't have the courage to stick to their own opinion. You shouldn't listen to them.”

“They told us not to give any more interviews without consulting them,” Naruto replied.

“Don't listen. You've been accepted as a refugee and a prospective citizen. You have the right to speak your mind just as anyone else, so don't let them intimidate you.”

“But don't give any more interviews to Urban Lady,” one of the women said. “They are just a commercial magazine. Give interviews to some more intelligent papers.”

“And do some research before your next interview,” a woman suggested who had not spoken before, “so that you actually have some answers to your interviewer's questions.” 

It was then that the figure under the tree disappeared and reappeared next to the group. It was the space-time-ninjutsu Naruto knew well by now. The young people stared at Madara: There were a lot of people in Music Town wearing weird clothes (themselves among them), but a cloak with bright red clouds and a mask that covered the whole face were rather unusual. He still held his copy of Urban Lady in his hands, which made him look even weirder. Naruto felt frightened, even though he tried not to: with Sasuke at his side he would have felt safer. 

“You're searching for peace, Naruto, aren't you?” he said. “I can offer you peace.”

Naruto was taken by surprise. 

“What kind of peace?” he asked. 

“Don't fall for it,” one of the women said. “He's probably from some weird religious sect, trying to proselyte you.”

“What kind of peace?” Naruto asked again. 

“The true, lasting, endurable kind of peace. The kind of peace that lasts not only for a year, or a decade, or a century, but forever.”

“You see: a weird religious guy,” the woman said. 

“You're talking about death,” another woman said, speaking directly to Madara. “Because dying is the only way to achieve this kind of endurable peace. In life, ordinary peace is all you get.”

She sounded as if she was certain that the words she spoke were true, but also she sounded concerned.

“Don't worry,” Naruto said. “You don't have anything to fear of him. He's not interested in you.”

She shook her head and reached out to him. The man who sat on Naruto's other side slapped his shoulder. (He was not gay, and everything else seemed embarrassing to him.) As if they considered me under the influence of some genjutsu, Naruto thought. But Madara was no genjutsu, and people in Music Town had probably never heard of genjutsu or learnt how to counter it. 

“You don't need peace, Naruto, do you?” another man said. “At least not the religious kind of peace. You like to be active and to have fun. With peace, you'd be bored to death within ten minutes.”

“I don't offer the religious kind of peace,” Madara said. “Or if I offer it I offer it as an extra to the peace I offer to the world. That's what you're looking for, aren't you?”

“Yes,” Naruto answered hesitatingly. He had, somehow, known all the time that Madara had not spoken of the Inner Peace the priest at the main temple had talked about. 

“What kind of peace can you offer?” he asked. “Haven't you made Nagato betray his dream of peace? Haven't you sent Sasuke to abduct Killerbee?” 

“For peace, sacrifices are necessary. It's just a few, but hundreds of millions will be saved.”

“Nagato spoke of killing hundreds of millions.”

“Hundreds of thousands, actually, to save hundreds of millions. He was never good with numbers. Also, he misunderstood the concept. Hundreds of thousands, or hundreds of millions, will live. The only thing that's still needed is the kyuubi.”

“What about the Hachibi?”

“That too.”

“And we'll die in the process of extracting the bijuu.”

“Two lives against the hundreds of millions who afterwards will live in peace and won't have to die for any foolish politician's lust for power.”

Naruto listened. It sounded more acceptable than hundreds of thousands dying, the option Pain had offered him. He tried to remember that fight, but he was no longer certain what exactly had seemed so despicable about Pain's plan: The idea of having to sacrifice himself, or the idea of hundreds of thousands (or millions) dying for that weapon Nagato wanted to create. Two people dying sounded more acceptable than hundreds of millions.

“You said that peace is the most important desire of your heart,” Madara continued, holding up his copy of Urban Lady. “Aren't you ready to sacrifice for it? What kind of prophet of peace are you that you value your own person higher than your dream?”

Naruto was seriously in trouble now. Peace had always been his greatest dream, and he had always been taught that you should be ready to sacrifice yourself for what was precious to you. If he died for peace he'd sacrifice himself for all the people in the ninja countries. 

Madara interrupted his silence. 

“There may be a way to save you, as the kyuubi is the most powerful of the bijuu, and also you haven't yet tamed it, so that it's still clearly separated from you, and its chakra is not yet flowing through your chakra channels. It may be possible to extract it without killing you.”

Naruto took a breath and straightened. “What about Killerbee?” he asked, and when Madara didn't anwswer, he continued: “I won't consent to Killerbee's death.”

He felt that people around him had also held their breath, and now they were breathing again. 

“He's talking rubbish,” one of the men said. “He hasn't explained in any way how he wants to use the bijuu to create peace.”

“Aren't they huge masses of chakra?” one of the women asked. “How is it possible to use large masses of chakra to create peace? I mean, peace comes about when people start to talk to each other, doesn't it?” 

“Don't listen,” a second man said. “He's obviously crazy.”

Madara, realizing that no one was taking him seriously, vanished. 

“Do you know that guy?” one of the women asked.

“He's the head of Akatsuki. He's after Sasuke and me, and probably after Killerbee too.”

For some seconds people were silent, shocked.

“Have you told the police about him?” the same woman asked, and then, after some seconds of thought, she corrected herself: “Have you spoken to your superiors?” 

Naruto shook his head. “Madara is an extremely powerful ninja. You've only seen his space-time-ninjutsu, which he uses to move from one place to another, or from one dimension to another, but he's got other powers too. The police here is good at preventing fights between football fans, at finding children who haven't returned home when it's dark, or at helping drunk people find their way home. They are not good at dealing with a ninja of Madara's level. Sasuke and I will do this by ourselves.”

People nodded. They also preferred to rely on themselves, as they had little trust in the capacity of the police of Music Town.

“We'll accompany you to your place,” the woman said. “Just in case the guy returns.”

“It's not necessary,” Naruto answered, feeling embarrassed and humiliated. 

“It's okay,” one of the men said. “You look shaken. You shouldn't be alone.”


	114. Chapter One Hundred Eleven: The Kyuubi Again

Naruto had no choice but to accept the young people's offer. At the front door they even suggested to accompany him to his flat, but he told them that Sasuke would be waiting for him upstairs. This finally made them leave him: They trusted Sasuke to look after him. (Actually Naruto's main reason for telling them not to go upstairs was that he did not want Sasuke to see him return protected by a couple of women (and some men too), or return and see the flat full of guests whose presence Naruto would have to explain.) 

Sasuke was not waiting, and he did not return for about an hour. Naruto was partly used to this by now, as working on different shifts had become normal to them, but he was still not good at spending time on his own – it reminded him of the lonely weeks in Music Town before Sasuke's arrival, and even worse, the horrible first years of his life. Normally he sought other company on these occasions, his fellow dancers mostly, and tonight for the first time the people at the riverside, and normally he saw that he returned later than Sasuke, but tonight Madara's appearance had ruined that plan. 

Now Naruto had to spend an hour on his own. He tried to read, but he found it difficult to focus on his book. His thoughts were rumbling in his head: he was wasting his time in Music Town, he thought. Sasuke was content training to be a policeman, but he wasn't. He had only accepted the job because being with Sasuke was better than going to some ordinary school, surrounded by teenagers of his own age who had never left Music Town and who had never done anything for real. He enjoyed going on parole with some fully-trained colleague, but of the theoretical stuff they learnt he was only interested in what was most general and least specific to being a policeman. (With Sasuke it was the other way round.) 

Sasuke had an aim he thought: Becoming a policeman and continuing his clan's tradition. His own aim had been to become Hokage in Konoha (thus also continuing his family's tradition), but this was not possible while he remained in Music Town, and to achieve true, lasting peace, but no one here took his dream seriously. People explained to him why he could not change the situation in Konoha, and they made clear to him that his ideas about peace were childish. Not even at the police's project for difficult children where he and Sasuke taught the kids taijutsu they trusted him to solve conflicts: last time he had tried to end an argument between some kids first by reminding them that they were both part of the same project, and then by making some jokes and trying to divert them, some of the grown-up women who led the project had taken over, simply telling the kids to stop fighting, and then asking them one by one what it had all been about. Later they had advised Naruto not to try to solve difficult conflicts on his own. 

Only that for all their supposed cleverness none of these people here in Music Town had ever offered him a feasible plan how to drive Danzou out of office, and while they laughed at Madara and his suggestion that sacrifices might be necessary to achieve peace they did not have any idea how to promote peace between the ninja countries. They were content with the petty, fragile peace they had achieved for their own town. They did not care about peace in the ninja countries because they profited from them being at war. They had no dreams larger than their own town, and they did not know that sometimes sacrifices are necessary to make your dreams come true.

Though he would not sacrifice Killerbee, would he? He could not imagine Killerbee, whom he considered a friend by now, being killed, not even for true, lasting peace for the hundreds of millions inhabitants of the ninja countries, or even the billions of people in the rest of the world. It did not matter whether you sacrificed one person, or hundreds of thousands.

Madara was crazy and evil, he reminded himself. He should not fall for him. He should not give his consent to Killerbee's death, least of all if that was the price for saving his own life. He would not live while Killerbee died. Madara was evil – his plans for peace were bound to be corrupted. 

When Sasuke returned he noticed that Naruto was not his usual self. He began to act careful around him, but he did not know how to ask him what was on his mind, or whether something had happened (and also he thought he knew what was troubling him: Naruto still felt bad about the interview that had gone wrong.) 

Their fellow dancers also noticed that something was wrong: Normally it was Sasuke who received most of the criticism: for not smiling, for being too stiff, for being not gentle enough, for being too introverted. Now, however, it was Naruto who got criticized – for making mistakes with the steps themselves, for not allowing himself to be led, for not looking at people, but at the ceiling, and even for not smiling. Naruto knew that he was not focussed, he knew that he was not contacting the men around him and flirting with them as he usually did. He was not interested in them, after all – he was interested in peace, and in Konoha, but not in them. He was wasting his time here. He could not smile.

On their way home Sasuke laid his arm around Naruto's shoulders: “I don't mind if you don't always smile: I like you serious too.”

When they had sex Naruto was absent-minded, too, but Sasuke was already used to it: he knew that Naruto was communicating with the kyuubi. It was worse than on other days, though: Naruto did not seem to stop talking to it. 

“You should consider Madara's offer,” the kyuubi said. “If I got extracted without you getting killed you could be proud of having created true, lasting peace, and I'd be free again to roam the ninja countries, powerful as in my old days.”

“You wouldn't be free,” Naruto replied. “You'd be subdued by Madara. That's not what you want.”

The kyuubi didn't answer. 

“I care. I offer you my friendship. I offer you Sasuke's friendship too.”

“I don't need his friendship. I offer you power. Even the power to create peace.”

Sasuke was busy giving Naruto a blow-job. He wished that he would just focus on his pleasure.

The next morning Naruto told him that they should contact Killerbee again: he was ready for the next step of their project of taming the kyuubi. They sought out Killerbee and agreed to meet as soon as possible. (It wasn't easy, as the boys had a full schedule at the police, and Killerbee was busy recording a new album.) They found a day and a time, however, and met on the former garbage hill of Music Town.

“Have you practised talking to the kyuubi, and does he listen to you and answer you?” Killerbee asked.

“Yes,” Naruto replied. “I talk and explain to it that Sasuke is a friend and that it should learn to be friends with him too.”

“Okay. The next step is that you allow his chakra to flow through the chakra channels of your own body. Be careful: Don't use his whole chakra. Also make sure that you keep talking to him, and ask him for his cooperation.”

“Jiraiya already taught me to use the kyuubi's chakra,” Naruto said. “Ask it to lend you its chakra, and then let the chakra flow through your chakra channels, and mix it with your own. But when I did so there was always a point where the kyuubi would take over.” 

“How did that happen?” 

Naruto told of his fights against Orochimaru and Pain: “I was out of my mind with anger then. Defeating my enemy was all that counted.” It then came to his mind how once Jiraiya had tried to train him and how this had almost resulted in Jiraiya's death. “I once tried to use the kyuubi outside a fight, and this went wrong too. When there were four tails I lost control.”

“How did that go?”

“I was training – training to fight actually. Jiraiya had to tease me and get me in fighting mood, or I would not have been able to access the kyuubi's chakra. When I first trained he even had to get me into a situation where my life was in danger if I did not manage to use the kyuubi's chakra.”

“So now you try to release the kyuubi's chakra without the intention to fight anyone, not even for sparring. Be careful with the tails – let them build one by one. Maybe it's best not to create any tail at all today, and next time we train you create one tail, and then two, and so on. Keep talking to the kyuubi all the time. Sasuke will be your back-up.”

Both boys nodded, and Sasuke, taking his role literally, took position at Naruto's side, but also a step behind him. Naruto closed his eyes and turned his mind inside, to the place where the kyuubi was waiting for him behind cage bars. 

“I'm going to release some of your chakra,” he said. “not all of it – just some.”

“So you've changed your mind,” the kyuubi replied. “You want to make use of my power.”

“I don't,” Naruto replied. “I just want to give you a sense of freedom. I want to give you an idea what it might feel like if we were friends, and if you were friends with Sasuke too, and if I could trust you not to hurt anyone when you are free.”

“Free to do anything that's okay to your, or to your friends,” the kyuubi said.

“Better than staying in your cage all the time. - So give me some of your chakra: it's not for fighting, only for enjoyment. You'll feel it. You'll feel what being my friend might mean to you. You'll feel what being with people might feel like.”

The kyuubi nodded. “I'll give it a try.”

The kyuubi let its chakra flow through the bars of the cage, and Naruto let it flow through his chakra channels. It was a long time since he had last done this intentionally, without being overcome by fear and anger, and he had almost forgotten how this felt, and of the incidents when the kyuubi had gone out of control he had hardly any memory at all, only that he had felt as if he was burning, burning with anger, and that the anger had obscured every other emotion and also his ability to think. 

It had been different when he had first called the kyuubi during his training for the third part of the chuunin exam, it had been different when he fought Sasuke in the Valley of the End, and it had been different when he had trained with Jiraiya during their journeys. Then he had remained conscious, and anger had not been the dominating emotion (if he had felt any anger at all), but the kyuubi's chakra in his body had still felt as if it was burning. It was burning now, too, his legs and arms no longer seemed to belong to him, so that he had difficulties to control them. He knew that if the chakra rose to his head he'd lose control quickly. 

He heard Killerbee's voice: “It's enough,” and he pushed the chakra back into the cage. His hands and feet ceased to burn.

“You went all stiff,” Killerbee said while Naruto slowly returned to normal. “You need to learn to move while using the kyuubi's chakra, and also to talk and think when you're in that state. Though as a first step, it will be a good idea if you don't forget to breathe. I thought that this was not the first time that you invoked the kyuubi's chakra.”

“It wasn't,” Naruto said. “It was just a long time ago that I did it outside a fight. Fighting is what the kyuubi wants. In a fight he can make me move.”

“Being in contact with the kyuubi outside a fight, and not letting him dictate your movements is what our training is about,” Killerbee said. 

Naruto nodded. 

“Don't let him paralyze you. Don't let him control your actions.”

“I'll try again,” Naruto replied, and when Killerbee had given his consent and Sasuke had taken his former position, he again turned inwards to the place where the kyuubi was waiting for him in his cage. 

“So that's what you spoke about, being with your so-called friends,” the kyuubi said. 

“They're real friends, not so-called friends,” Naruto replied. “You'll understand when you know them better.”

“They don't want to know me better. They want me tame and in control, doing only what they want.”

“That's not true. They want you outside, meaning that they do care about you. They are here to support both you and me. So lend me your chakra again, so that I can let it flow through my chakra channels, and learn to move while I am in that state.”

The kyuubi nodded again, and it seemed as if it were smiling. Its chakra flowed out of the cage and into Naruto's chakra channels. It was more than the first time, and it burnt again. Naruto remembered Killerbee's advice to move, but having no idea what to do this was difficult. He settled for going in small circles.

“Breathe,” Killerbee said. “The kyuubi's chakra is in your body now, but you still need oxygen to balance it, otherwise you will draw on the kyuubi's chakra for mere survival.”

“The chakra is all around you now, too,” Sasuke said.

Naruto turned to him and saw that he had activated his Sharingan. 

“I told you not to use it,” he said. 

“I need to see what's going on,” Sasuke replied. “I'm your back-uo after all.”

More of the kyuubi's chakra was rushing into Naruto's body. He tried to hold it back, but it didn't work, and then it was also entering his head.

“Remove the tail,” Killerbee said. “We discussed it before: no tails today.”

“You see, they only want to grant me freedom within the limits they've set for me,” they kyuubi said. 

Naruto tried to push back the kyuubi's chakra, and to get a clear mind again. He knew that he should be able to do that – he had just done it, hadn't he – but he was angry now, angry at Sasuke for using his Sharingan on him, angry at Killerbee for telling him what to do and what not to do. The chakra did not flow back into the cage, instead more and more came out of it, and Naruto was not able to keep it out of his head. Also he no longer could control whether he was in the real world or in his own mind: one moment he saw Sasuke and Killerbee and the landscape around them, the next moment he stood again in front of the kyuubi's cage.

Then suddenly Sasuke stood next to him in front of the kyuubi's cage, looking into the kyuubi's eyes, then lifting his hands as if he wanted to stop someone, or something, and indeed the chakra flow stopped in obedience to the gesture while when Naruto had actually put his hands into the red liquid nothing had happened. Sasuke made a gesture as if he was shoving the chakra back into the cage, and again it obeyed to his movements. 

Slowly Naruto's mind got clear again, and he found himself standing on the lawn with Sasuke and Killerbee. When he looked into Sasuke's eyes he saw a pattern he had never seen before.


	115. Chapter One Hundred Twelve: The Seventh Letter

Sasuke deactivated first the Mangekyou, then the ordinary Sharingan. He took Naruto's hand, and Naruto accepted it, but they didn't look into each other's eyes. 

“I think for today this was enough training,” Killerbee said.

Sasuke and Naruto went home hand in hand, still not looking at each other. They had supper, but they did not talk more than absolutely necessary. Sasuke knew that Naruto was deeply disturbed about what had happened, but he did not know how to ask him about it, or how to apologize, or what for. 

“I'll go to bed,” Naruto said after supper, though it was still early. Normally if said at such an early time of the evening the sentence was followed by the question whether Sasuke would join him: it was one of Naruto's ways to initiate sex. But tonight the question did not follow, and Naruto did not sound as if he wanted company in bed, so Sasuke hesitated before he got up and followed Naruto to the bedroom all the same. 

Naruto was sitting on the bed, waiting for Sasuke, and when Sasuke entered he began to undress, and he undressed completely, one piece of clothing after the other, as if he wanted Sasuke to watch. Normally he undressed in a casual way, and then he would put on his old sleeping-T-shirt and a pair of boxers. Sasuke felt irritated: obviously Naruto wanted him to join him, but it still felt all wrong. He approached the bed, and Naruto began to undress him too, opening the buttons of his shirt and the belt of his pants, and Sasuke did the rest, except that he kept on his underpants. 

Naruto's expression had not changed since they had had supper in silence, and he still avoided Sasuke's eyes, only that he occasionally looked up at him and tried to smile seductively. It did not work for Sasuke: he felt not aroused, but irritated. (Indeed he liked it best when Naruto simply said: “Come on, let's have sex,” because then Naruto was most like Naruto, in Sasuke's opinion, showing the essence of his self.)

Naruto lay down on his back, still naked, and drew Sasuke onto the bed too, inducing him to lie upon himself. He opened his legs, making Sasuke lie between them, he put Sasuke's hands on his bottom while raising his knees to give Sasuke better access. Sasuke felt even more irritated: the signals Naruto gave him seemed all too clear, but Naruto still avoided his eyes, and also, it would be the first time that Naruto would be the passive partner with anal sex: before, he had always refused to do this, mostly bringing up the kyuubi as an excuse, and after some time Sasuke had stopped asking. He considered it weird that Naruto should agree to being the passive partner just after the kyuubi had got out of control.

“You really want this?” he asked.

“Why do you hesitate?” Naruto asked in return. “You've been inside me today already, haven't you?”

Sasuke still felt insecure.

“Isn't that what you've always wanted?” 

He had managed to hit a sore spot: this was indeed what Sasuke had wanted when he had dreamt of Naruto in Orochimaru's lair, and what he had been ashamed of longing for. Now Naruto offered it by himself, and Sasuke did his best to accept the offer, caressing Naruto's face and his chest, teasing his nipples and his cock and the inner side of his thighs. Naruto remained as he was: all relaxed and passive, but not looking at Sasuke, or smiling at him, or returning his caresses. After a while Sasuke broke off. 

“Not like this,” he said. 

He withdrew to his side of the bed, his back turned to Naruto. He felt desperate – after Naruto had learnt about his attack against Killerbee he had done his best to pretend that everything was well, and Naruto had done his best too, but it just didn't work. He felt how the abyss opened again, threatening to devour him: without Naruto everything he had gained in Music Town would be pointless. 

Naruto felt Sasuke's sadness, and it finally made him drop the anger he had felt since Sasuke had activated his Sharingan. He returned to his ordinary emotional reactions: the need to comfort his friend. He lay his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, then he embraced him from behind. Sasuke took his hand and pressed it against his chest, and for a while they lay in spooning position, Naruto kissing Sasuke's neck. 

“I dreamt of you as the passive partner when I lay in my bed in Orochimaru's lair,” Sasuke said. “I dreamt, and I was ashamed of my dreams, but I could not stop them.”

Naruto kept kissing his neck and caressing Sasuke's chest with his thumb (His fingers were firmly held by Sasuke.) 

“I don't dream any more,” Sasuke continued. “What we did when we were awake was better than every dream. I no longer need to be the active partner.”

Naruto kissed his neck again, and Sasuke turned around and saw that Naruto no longer avoided looking at him, that he was smiling again, and that his eyes were full of warmth as they were when Sasuke thought of him in moments when they were apart. Sasuke caressed his hair and kissed him. 

“We can do blow-jobs,” he suggested.

Naruto shook his head. “Not now.”

He rested his head on Sasuke's chest and for a while they remained like this and even fell asleep, but after a quarter of an hour they woke up again. (The position was just too uncomfortable for sleeping.) They still needed to get ready for the night, and when Naruto got up to brush his teeth he remembered that he still had to fetch the mail from the letter-box. He returned to the bedroom with a bunch of letters from fans of the Gutsy Ninja, and when he went through them he found a letter from Sakura too, and enclosed in it was another letter from Hinata. Sitting on their bed, leaning against each other, they read Sakura's letter. 

Dear Sasuke, dear Naruto, 

thanks for your letter! I am glad to read that you are doing fine in that Music Town, and that people there have started to value your true talents, offering you jobs as policemen so that you no longer need to work as waiters. 

I'm sad, however, too: your letter makes me fear that you are going to stay in Music Town, and never return to Konoha.

“We'll have to write her that we still plan to come back and to drive Danzou out of office,” Sasuke said.

I've seen horses in illustrated history books, by the way. I'm certain that you look great on them.

Sasuke had seen these pictures too: Warriors with spears, or with bow and arrow, but he did not feel like these warriors. He felt like the women who taught him: Caring for an animal that was helpless without him.

We've found the article in Urban Lady about the two of you. It has slipped the censors' attention, probably because they don't care about women's magazines. They even overlooked the announcement on the title page. It was nice to see photos of you, and of the place you live at. It looks as if it's a beautiful town.

We've read the interview too. People discuss it, though they are careful when supporters of Danzou might hear them. But it's ordinary people who discuss it, not only those who are part of our network “mothers of Konoha”. They wonder whether Danzou is really the wise leader he pretends to be, the leader who will protect Konoha against all threats from outside. No other village has attacked us for twenty years, they say. Maybe their feelings against Konoha aren't as hostile as Danzou says. We used to have quite good relations with Suna, after all. Maybe we don't have to put too much effort into protecting us against them.

These days the strain mostly consists in not knowing how to pay the rent, or how to pay for food. Not going on missions means that people are seriously short of money. They are not short of work, as Danzou has strengthened the defense of the village, and most people are constantly on guard duty now, but wages have fallen. Konoha is going through rough times, Danzou says. We all have to stand together now and make sacrifices for the benefit of the village. He suggests that Konoha should strive for autarky, and no longer depend on money from other places.

The shinobi accept this as they are used to sacrifices and hard times, but the civilians of the village have sent a delegation to Danzou to protest against the new rules: in order to make life easier for shinobi Danzou has decided that there should be fixed prices for most goods. It means that civilians have to sell some of the essential products, mostly rice, at a price below the price they paid for it themselves. Danzou also wants them to engage in producing goods instead of just selling them, and they protest against this too: Being civilians does not mean they can do every civilian job. A lot of them have left Konoha, looking for better opportunities in other places, and now Danzou has made a law that forbids them to leave the village, just as if they were shinobi.

Ichiraku from the ramen stand led that delegation of civilians. He sends you his regards, by the way. Danzou sent them home with the message that they, too, are part of Konoha, and have to contribute to its survival. 

He's negotiating with the Daimyou for financial support for Konoha. We're protecting Fire Country, after all. So far the Daimyou refuses to give any extra money to Konoha. My mother thinks he's quite annoyed with Danzou.

Sai has continued his research in the archives of the Hokage Tower. Obviously the Uchiha have broken into the Hokage Tower only a short time before they were killed. Sai has found evidence that Danzou framed that as an attempt to murder the Hokage and seize power. Sai however thinks that other interpretations are possible too: they might have been trying to break into the archive, just what he is doing now. He has followed the trail trying to find what the Uchiha were looking for, and he found traces of another break-in, right before the kyuubi's attack.

Don't touch anything, Sasuke thought. Make sure that no one else touches anything before the experts arrive. If he were there he'd organize things – he had done it a few times already, putting up keep-out band around some office and telling people to stay away and send them to his colleague if they insisted. (He was not yet trusted to stand his ground in a discussion with insistent people. He himself thought that he was getting better at discussions.)

Hinata has run into trouble with Danzou again. He demands that she puts the Caged Bird Seal on her sister Hanabi, and she refuses. He keeps pressuring her, but until now she remains firm and repeats that it is her desire to reform the Hyuuga clan and not make her sister hostage of her own survival. He cannot force her, however, except by threatening her and using emotional pressure, saying that as a shinobi of the Leaf she has the duty to seal her sister: the byakuugan is not the property of the Hyuuga clan, but a weapon that belongs to the whole village and must not fall in anyone else's hands. She replies that she loves her sister and that therefore her sister's happiness is most important to her. 

The arguments don't change, and neither Hinata nor Danzou are ready to give in, even though Hinata is now forbidden to leave her clan's compound. But people discuss the conflict, and a lot of them admire her for her steadfastness and for her love for her sisters. Others say that she should give more consideration to the needs of the village. But as people are getting more and more aware that Danzou, not foreign countries, is the real problem, admiration for Hinata is growing. We fear that as a last resort Danzou will imprison or even kill her, and I've warned her and told her to be more careful, but she says that for her sister she is ready to risk her life. 

Danzou has also published an article against the two of you in the newspaper. It's mainly directed against Naruto. I've included it as I think that you might be interested.

I'm glad that you're doing well. Don't worry about me – my life is not in danger, only Hinata's is. But life no longer looks as bleak as it did just after your flight.

Love, Sakura

Still leaning against Sasuke Naruto put Sakura's letter back into the envelope and unfolded the letter from Hinata. He hesitated for a few seconds, then he decided that Sasuke might read that letter too:

Dear Naruto! 

Thanks for your good wishes for my marriage and my unborn child! Your kind words are very precious to me. I will hold you dear until the end of my life, and all my actions are inspired by your ideals.

We in Konoha are glad that in your thoughts you are with us, but it's better if you remain in that Music Town. Sakura tells me you're happy, and you're looking like it on the photos in Urban Lady. In Konoha we'd have to hide you and keep you out of Danzou's reach. Your words in the preface to the Gutsy Ninja and in the interview in Urban Lady are enough to give us courage and hope, and the knowledge that you're doing well gives me the greatest happiness I can imagine. 

Love, Hinata.

P.S. Danzou says you're selfish, but you aren't.


	116. Chapter One Hundred Thirteen: Traitor

Naruto regretted that he had let Sasuke read Hinata's letter. Being told by her that he'd better stay in Music Town as in Konoha he'd have to be hidden from Danzou hurt. Sasuke did not make any silly remarks, fortunately, but just leant against him and caressed his shoulder. 

“Let's read the article,” he said.

Speech by Danzou, to the people of Konoha, full transcript: 

To my fellow citizens of Konoha, leaves from the same tree, 

We all know that these are days of hardship. Konoha was almost completely destroyed less than a year ago, and the strain of rebuilding it and at the same time going on to live our normal lives as ninja, doing missions and protecting the villages against an attack from enemies from outside or within is taking its toll on all of us, all the more as the village suffered severe losses from Pain's attack. I know that you are all working hard, and I assure you that I do my share too, toiling day and night to see through my fellow kages' plans to use Konoha's present weakness, and take measures to prevent them from succeeding.

We all have to stand together now, to endure present hardships, to do our best to help Konoha recover its old strength, and try not to let anyone know of Konoha's weaknesses. It was for this reason that I pretended that Naruto, the kyuubi's jinchuuriki, is still with us here in Konoha, ready to defend it when our enemies attack. I kept hidden the truth that he left Konoha only a short time after Pain's attack, kept it hidden not only from foreign countries but also from you. I did it all for the best: to avoid that any of you might accidentally tell the truth to some foreign shinobi. I know that with the policy of détente of recent years a lot of you have become careless, which is okay as you are simple citizens of Konoha, but all the more it is important that I, the Hokage, take responsibility and act with caution and circumspection.

Therefore I decided that it is best if no one knows that Naruto is no longer in Konoha, and everything would have been fine if he himself had not made public that he lives in Music Town now and spends his time enjoying himself instead of considering how he might best serve Konoha. He has left our community for the superficial pleasures of a place where thinking only of oneself counts as virtue and having fun is considered the highest aim in life. He has abandoned the higher happiness of being close to his friends and staying true to the bonds that unite him with his village for a life of ease among people who've never understood the bliss that comes with forgetting your petty self and understanding that you are just a leaf from a tree that's much greater than you, so that even if you die it won't be a tragedy as long as if its for the benefit of your village. They are busy all the time protecting their small lives, even avoiding war, instead of seeking the purifying experience you gain from risking your life in battle and understanding that all your daily troubles are insignificant in comparison to your people's concerns. He has chosen a life of immorality and banality instead of the wisdom and commitment he may have found in Konoha. 

Naruto has left and betrayed Konoha. He has applied for citizenship of Music Town, and he has formed an alliance with the last spawn of the Uchiha clan with its tradition of caring more for themselves than the village as a whole

He is forming friendships with people from other countries, enemies of Konoha. He has made public that he lives in Music Town, and that Konoha no longer provides over the kyuubi to protect it. He can no longer be seen as a leaf from the tree we all belong to. 

I know that this is hard to accept for those among you who consider Naruto a friend. But for you, and for the whole village, it's best if we all face the truth and realize that he is no longer a friend of Konoha but an enemy.   
I, Shimura Danzou, will remain a friend of Konoha, and protecting it will always be my highest priority. You may rely firmly on me to guide you through these times of troubles, and together we will soon see a brighter future. 

Sasuke finished the article before Naruto did, not because he was a faster reader in general but because Naruto had trouble to cope with Danzou's accusations. Sasuke felt it, and drew him closer to himself. 

“Hinata is correct,” he said. “You aren't selfish. Danzou's words are complete rubbish. He doesn't know you at all.”

“But he's right,” Naruto replied. “We are enjoying ourselves, while people in Konoha suffer. We are wasting our time.”

Sasuke didn't think that he was wasting his time. He thought that he was learning a lot of important stuff, and that actually a lot of his time in Konoha had been wasted. Yet Naruto's words brought back to his mind what Madara had said about not avenging his clan and instead having fun. 

“What would you do?” he asked Naruto. “You know that Danzou would target us specifically if we tried to live in Konoha and help Sakura and Hinata with distributing information and disobeying to Danzou's orders. They'd have to hide us, and we would endanger their lives.”

“We wouldn't,” Naruto replied. “We're too strong. We don't need to be protected.” He paused for a second. “We might challenge him openly.”

Sasuke hesitated, surprised by the suggestion. From Naruto it sounded weird, but else it sounded all too familiar, reminding him of his original plans of taking revenge: Challenge Danzou, kill him, and then accept punishment for killing the Hokage.

“And then?” he asked. “We'd have a fight, though not necessarily against Danzou. It's far more likely that he sends some of his supporters to fight us. There's still people in Konoha who support him after all. There'll be a lot of damage to the village. It's not what you want, is it, and it's not what people will make you Hokage for.”

Naruto didn't answer, and he didn't look at Sasuke. 

“Let's go to sleep,” Sasuke said. 

When they woke up in the morning they did not have sex, which was what they normally did when they had enough time before work. They caressed each other's faces and hair, they kissed, but when they tried to do more Naruto broke off. 

“The kyuubi's still within me,” he explained. “You pushed it back, but not completely. I still feel its chakra in every part of my body, except my head. I cannot sleep with you like that.”

Sasuke smiled sadly and acceptingly, sensing that this was not the whole truth, and they just lay side by side, caressing each other and carefully embracing each other, laying their cheeks against each other's and feeling each other's heartbeat.

After a while they separated, feeling that no more was possible. Naruto sat up and looked down at Sasuke, and finally he admitted to himself that they had been faking intimacy for quite some time now. Having sex had still been enjoyable, but without emotional intimacy it was just not the same. He had longed for Sasuke with all his heart since Sasuke's departure from Konoha, and when he had understood that this was okay he had longed for him with all his body too, but the Sasuke he had longed for was the one who had left Konoha, not Sasuke as he was now. He had changed a lot, Naruto thought, becoming softer and less clumsy in his interactions with people (though still not as extroverted as Naruto), he had plans and a life of his own, and worst of all, he had a past of his own. When he had dreamt of Sasuke during his years with Jiraiya he had dreamt of being his door to life, and his door to forgiveness. Now Sasuke needed neither – people in Music Town were more ready to forgive him than he, Naruto, was .

Sasuke was sad, but he was also relieved that they had stopped pretending that everything was all right. He was afraid of losing Naruto, but he was also concerned. He knew that Naruto felt restless and aimless, that he was hurt by Danzou's words, and that he was wondering whether life in Music Town was not indeed a selfish affair. He did not want to lose Naruto, but now he also did not want to lose hm for Naruto's own sake: he was afraid of what might happen if they broke up. 

“I don't want to lose you,” he said, and for a second Naruto was as he used to be, smiling confidently and proudly. 

“You should know by now that it's not that easy to get rid of me.”

That evening there was an opportunity for free training at their dance school, and as they still planned to dance at the upcoming tournament Sasuke and Naruto made use of it: it was better than staying at home, not knowing what to talk about. They tried to practise their sequence, but their minds were elsewhere, and they were relieved when there was some opportunity to dance with other men (or, in Naruto's case, to discuss football with them.) 

The guy from Earth Country approached Naruto when he was standing at the bar, watching Sasuke dance with someone else. 

“No longer jealous?” he asked. “There was a time when you would not let him talk to anyone else.”

“It's not sex, just dancing,” Naruto replied. “For sex he'll return to me.”

“You enjoy watching him?” 

Naruto nodded. “No one's more elegant and at the same time more manly than him.”

“There were times when you would not have dared to think about him in that way.”

“I thought of him like that even when I was a little child,” Naruto replied. Only then he realized what the man was alluding to, and his heart ached as he thought of the innocence of those days when his fear that Sasuke might fall in love with someone else had been his worst problem. He had been foolish then, he thought. 

“I didn't know then that what I felt for him was love. Now I do.”

Naruto remembered how he had been afraid of sex, and how it had turned out to be just great. He remembered how he had been afraid of being gay, and now he had completely stopped thinking of women. His heart and his body longed for Sasuke, and no one else. 

“You're very thoughtful tonight,” the man said. “Everything okay?” 

“We didn't have sex this afternoon, or yesterday afternoon,” Naruto answered. 

“You have sex every afternoon?”

“When we return from work, normally. It's the best time. We get home, have sex, and then we go dancing, or meet some friends.”

The man thought for some seconds. “Such a regular routine is not always the best thing. It easily takes away the tension and excitement.” 

Naruto could do well without tension and excitement. He decided that the man, though he liked him and considered him a friend, was not the right person to discuss his sex life with.

“Do you know that Danzou made a speech where he calls you a traitor?” the man continued. “It was printed in full length in the newspaper.”

“Even here in Music Town? I thought only Konoha's papers had access to it.” 

“When Konoha's papers have access to it ours reprint it. It was quite an ugly speech, actually – don't take it to your heart. You did not leave Konoha in order to forsake it. You left it because otherwise you would have been imprisoned by Danzou and turned into a weapon.”

Naruto considered it. “Not necessarily. But even if he had succeeded I'd still be with my people.”

“You would not help them. Danzou would have turned you into a means of their oppression.”

“He wouldn't. No one has ever managed to turn me into a tool. - When I fled I just thought of my own safety. I should have stayed.”

“It's okay that you cared for your safety. People care for you, and they want you to take care of yourself. Your friends in Konoha are certainly glad too that you are here, and safe.”

“They are,” Naruto replied gloomily

“You aren't selfish, no matter what Danzou says. You should not care about his words.”

“You don't understand. You are not far from everyone you care for. If you were in my place you'd long to be with your people too, even though it's dangerous.”

The man looked hurt, and did not answer, and thus the conversation ended. 

After dancing Sasuke took Naruto to the riverside. It was unusual: normally they met their friends there only on evenings without dance training. Tonight, however, Sasuke did not feel like staying at home with Naruto. He felt that both of them needed the company of other people.

As it was later than usual the group was only half its normal size. The rest had already gone home. 

“Some late guests!” they were greeted. 

“We've been dancing,” Sasuke answered.

“Ah. But don't you have to work tomorrow morning?” 

“We'll manage,” Sasuke replied, sitting down. 

Naruto sat down too. People looked at him, irritated that it was Sasuke, not him, who did the talking. 

“We've been talking about you,” one of the women said. “We've read that speech by Danzou where he calls you a traitor. Seems that you managed to scare him with that interview in Urban Lady.”

“He must see himself in a tight spot if he considers it necessary to react to it,” one of the men added. 

Naruto did not feel comforted. “I should be there, not here,” he said. “I'm wasting my time here. I should be with my people in Konoha.”

“To fight for Danzou and strengthen the village's defense against its non-existent enemies?” 

“To be with my friends and support their resistance against Danzou.”

“But you did support them with your interview.”

“It's not the same. I'm still enjoying life here. In Konoha I'd share my friends sufferings.”

“But you would not help them. It does not make sense to share your friends' sufferings when you can't improve their situation.”

“I'd be with them at least.”

“Danzou's your enemy,” one of the men said. “You should not listen to him. You should not even spend a second considering whether he might be correct. You don't have to suffer, or to sacrifice yourself, in order to help your friends. And also, there's nothing wrong with being selfish.”

Naruto was silent.

“What happened to that other guy by the way?” a woman asked. “The one with the mask who wanted you to sacrifice yourself for peace?” 

Naruto felt Sasuke stare at him. He had not thought of Madara lately, and he hated the woman for bringing him up when Sasuke was listening. 

“Have you talked to your superiors about him?” 

Naruto did not answer. People correctly took this as a “no”. 

“Really, you should inform them. He's the head of Akatsuki after all. If you don't, we'll inform the police ourselves.”

“You can't. You are still in trouble because of that drug affair.”

“Of course I can. Drugs are petty crimes compared to what Akatsuki did. The police knows that too. Tomorrow afternoon I'll go and inform them, so if you haven't spoken to them before it will be you who's in trouble.”

Naruto had never thought that his friends would go so far as to blackmail him.

“Really, you should alert the police. This is no game, after all. The guy's the head of Akatsuki, he's after you, he might become a danger to other people in Music Town too. The police needs to know.”

Naruto straightened, knowing that he was running out of arguments. “I'll go home now,” he said. “It's getting late, and tomorrow I have to get up early.”


	117. Chapter One Hundred Fourteen: Not a Frog

Sasuke had noticed that Naruto had said “I,” not “we,” but he got up all the same and went home with Naruto. He was not certain whether Naruto even wanted him with him, but he would not let him alone now that he knew that Madara was targeting Naruto too. Even in their flat he remained watchful, but of course they could not stay together all the time as they didn't accompany each other to the bathroom. When Sasuke returned to the bedroom he saw that Naruto was talking to someone, and for some seconds he stood still in astonishment.

“What's that? A speaking frog?” he asked. 

“Actually a toad,” Naruto replied. “Fugasaku from Myoboku Mountain.”

Frog or toad – for Sasuke the situation was grotesque.

“He taught me senjutsu there, and he gave me my copy of the Gutsy Ninja.”

A toad that not only speaks but also is some kind of ninja, Sasuke thought.

“This is Sasuke, my friend and my lover,” Naruto now introduced Sasuke to the toad.

The toad looked at Sasuke, making him feel ridiculous. Also he sensed the animosity in the toad's eyes.

“So he's the one for whose sake you won't leave Music Town,” Fugasaku said.

“That's right,” Sasuke replied, going over to Naruto and sitting down next to him, leaning heavily against him. He took Naruto's arm and laid it around his own shoulders. Naruto knew that even though Sasuke was being supported by him now he was also ready to fight for him if necessary.

“He needs me,” Naruto said, caressing Sasuke's shoulder. “He needs me to protect him from doing something stupid, as attacking Danzou on his own.”

The words were meant to hurt Sasuke, but Sasuke was too much concerned about Naruto to care about it.

“I need you to be with me,” he said. “I need you to dance with me, to have breakfast with me, to talk to me about what's weird in this town, to smile at me and with your smile make me feel as if the sun was shining again after a long time of rain.”

Naruto did not smile, but looked down.

Sasuke kissed him on his cheeks. He wanted to add that he needed him to have sex with him too, but as he had no idea when they would have sex again he only said: “I need you to embrace me and to cuddle with me when we fall asleep and we when we wake up in the morning.”

He leant against Naruto even more heavily now, and when Naruto finally looked at him he smiled himself, and again Naruto thought that when he was smiling Sasuke was prettier than any girl. He felt sad.

“He's just one person,” Fugasaku said.

“He's Sasuke. He's my friend, and my lover,” Naruto replied.

“You're Naruto, the child of destiny. You cannot only live for your love. You need to save the world.”

Sasuke dissolved the embrace in order to look at Naruto from some distance. He saw Naruto's sadness and confusion, and like always when he was serious he seemed most beautiful to Sasuke, as if something of his soul was shining through his face. Still he felt worried for him.

“Why should he save the world?” he asked. “He already has to cope with the kyuubi. Nobody has ever asked him whether he wanted it, and still he's responsible for it now. He can't be responsible for saving the whole world too.”

“It's his destiny,” Fugasaku replied. “He cannot only live for himself, and he cannot only live for you either. The whole world has to be his love.”

“There's a prophecy one of the toads made to Jiraiya,” Naruto said. “He'd have a student who'd bring peace to the world, or total destruction. I want to do the former, not the latter.”

“So that's why the Gutsy Ninja is of such great importance to you,” Sasuke said.

“Peace was Jiraiya's greatest dream, and it's my greatest dream too.”

“So what do you want to do`” 

“He'll say good-bye to his idle life in Music Town and unite the Ninja Countries.”

“He's not idle,” Sasuke replied. “He's working hard as a policeman in training.”

“You know what we're doing,” Naruto said. “We walk around, impose fines on people who drink or smoke where they're not supposed to, and help drunk people find their way home.”

“We've started our training a few weeks ago. They don't let us do any complicated stuff yet.”

“If we worked as ninja we wouldn't be regarded as beginners. We'd be taken seriously, and we'd do meaningful work.”

“As ninja we'd be hired to fight and to kill people.”

Naruto didn't answer, and this time Fugasaku didn't either. 

“You do enough for peace as it is,” Sasuke continued, kissing Naruto on his cheek again. “You've seen to it that the Gutsy Ninja is in print again. You spend one hour every evening answering letters from crazy fans. Last Sunday you sung that 'lament for a fallen lover' with your band and accompanied yourself on the guitar.”

“There were only thirty people who listened,” Naruto said. “And most of them were friends or relatives of the musicians.”

“Your band has just started,” Sasuke replied. “Anyway, you don't have to save the world on your own.”

He could not tell why he found the idea of Naruto saving the world deeply disturbing now. On other days he thought that Naruto was most beautiful when he dreamt of peace for everyone.

“Don't listen to some crazy frog,” he continued. “I need you. I need you here in Music Town, alive and human. I need your laughter, and the way you make a fool of yourself when we're dancing. I need you flirting with the girls in our class at the training center, I need your helpless conversations with tourists who don't speak our language. I need you to watch football on TV every Saturday evening because you want to know how Inner Center is doing.”

He laid his cheek against Naruto's and finally Naruto responded to him and returned his embrace. Fugasaku vanished.

“I want to stay with you,” Naruto said. “But also I am the child of destiny. I need to save the world.”

“You don't have to listen to some stupid talking frog's prophecies,” Sasuke replied. 

Naruto dissolved the embrace. “He's not a frog but a toad, and he taught me senjutsu. He taught Jiraiya too. He's not an enemy as Madara or Danzou, he's a friend.”

Sasuke touched his hair and kissed him on the cheek again. 

“Still there's no reason why you should save the world on your own.” He sighed. “Also, what's that about this encounter with Madara when I wasn't with you?” 

Naruto told him about Madara's offer to create peace at the price of his and Killerbee's life.

“Don't listen to him,” Sasuke said. “He's your enemy, and a dangerous criminal in the bargain. His promises to you are lies, just as his promises to me were lies.”

“And yet in one point he was right,” Naruto replied. “I speak of peace all the time, but I have never made any significant sacrifices for it.”

“Don't get yourself killed,” Sasuke said. “I need you alive. A lot of people need you alive.”

Naruto didn't respond. 

“Let's go to bed now,” Sasuke said. 

He was extremely worried. He resolved not to separate again from Naruto, if he could avoid it. He was afraid of what Danzou had written, fearing that Naruto might suddenly decide to return to his friends in Konoha, he was more afraid of Madara and his offer of peace, and he was most afraid of Fugasaku. He felt powerless, as he could not make Naruto stay in Music Town by force.

Of course they still did not accompany each other to the bathroom. Sasuke listened intently to the sound of Naruto taking a shower, fearing that he might again hear the frog's voice, and he was relieved when Naruto came out and was still on his own. He was scared.

They left their place half an hour earlier than usual in order to inform their superiors about Madara. Their teachers had not arrived yet, so they first told the secretary about it, but she didn't take it seriously and told them to wait. Only when someone else came in to ask her a question they managed to tell that man that Madara was in town. The man immediately took the boys to his boss so that they could tell her their story, and her reaction was again to take them to her own boss...

So the boys were told to wait again and then passed on higher and higher in the hierarchy until they found themselves opposite the head of the police, the same man Sasuke had spoken to when he had applied for a job. 

“Madara, the head of Akatsuki, is in town,” Sasuke said. “He's targeting Naruto.”

“He's targeting Sasuke too,” Naruto said, annoyed that Sasuke presented him as the one who needed to be protected. “He tries to convince him to cooperate with him.”

“And he needs Naruto as he's after the bijuu,” Sasuke added.

“What about Killerbee?” the head of the police asked.

“He's being targeted too,” Naruto answered.

“And my team,” Sasuke said. “He threatened to kill us all.”

“So all of you need to be protected,” the head of the police said. “Can you give me your friends' addressed so that we may contact them?” 

They did so, and he went out to talk to his assistant and tell her to send people both to Killerbee's flat and to all of Sasuke's former team members. Having done so he returned to his room, where Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for him. 

“Now concerning the two of you,” he said. “These are the measures we'll take in order to protect you...”


	118. Chapter One Hundred Fifteen: No career

„First: You won't go on patrol any more. You'll spend your days at the training center and your nights at home. On your way from one place to the other you'll be guarded by our staff in plain clothes. Else, don't go out.“

„What!“ Naruto exclaimed. „That's prison! We haven't done anything to deserve this!“

„You don't know prison, or you would not talk like this. Also, it's all for your own safety.“

„But we don't need it! We are exceptionally strong ninja. We don't need to be protected. We can protect ourselves.“

„Second: Under no circumstances you will fight Madara yourselves. Everyone knows what a place looks like after a ninja fight has taken place. No one wants this. So when Madara approaches you you withdraw and leave your protection to our people.“

„They don't stand a chance against Madara“, Sasuke said.

„They do. We have our own methods. Actually you should have learnt a bit about them by now. Our strategy is to get him into a situation where surrender is his best option. So for this we need some more information: can you give us a description of him?“ 

„He wears an Akatsuki cloak, black with red clouds, and an orange mask with a black spiral that reveals only one eye. Actually he's easily recognizable by his mask.“

The head of the police was taking notes. „Easily recognizable by his mask“, he repeated while he wrote. „A bit absurd, isn't it?“ 

Sasuke shrugged. „Ask Madara about it, when you've caught him.“

„What do you know about Madara's fighting skills?“ 

„His space-time-ninjutsu is exceptional. Else he mostly relies on his talking skills.“

„Meaning that the two of you should not only avoid getting into a fight, but also into a discussion.“ 

„I am no longer vulnerable to Madara's manipulations.“

„I hope so. So what do you know about Madara's own plans, and strategies? Can you tell me the location of his head quarter?“ 

Sasuke could not give the exact location, but he could give a description and the area where it could be found.

„We'll inform the ninja countries, and they'll take care of it“, the head of the police said. „With all their intelligence officers and military capacities your information will be sufficiently precise for them to find the base.“

„Why not ask them to help us fight Madara here in Music Town too?“

„As I said: we don't want any ninja fights in Music Town. We like our place as it is, and we don't have the money to rebuild it. Also, even if they manage to avoid fighting, we don't want any foreign military here. This is our own place, and we protect it by ourselves. If there's foreign military here, even if allegedly they came to protect us, they will soon start to give orders and organize the place according to their own ways. We don't want this.“

The boys nodded. 

„Also if we invite the ninja countries there'll be diplomatic complications as we cannot invite Konoha too without endangering the two of you. And if we don't invite Konoha we'll disrupt the fragile equilibrium of power that ensures our safety and independence. So we'll deal with Madara here by ourselves while the ninja countries take out his base. - Now, what do you know about his plans and aims? What do you know about his allies?“

He looked at Sasuke, but it turned out that Naruto knew much more than his friend: He could name all the members of Akatsuki, tell who was alive and who not, and he also told how Madara had tried to persuade him to sacrifice his own and Killerbee's life in order to create peace.

„You don't believe that he's really interested in peace, do you?“ the head of the police asked.

„Of course not“, Naruto replied.

„The head of the police looked again at Sasuke, hoping for more information from his side, but Sasuke just shrugged. „So you entered this alliance with Madara without asking any important questions. I mean, how can you trust your ally if you don't know anything about him?“ 

„I never trusted Madara“, Sasuke protested. „And I never regarded him as my ally. We had a deal, that's all.“

„Even for a deal you need a minimum of trust.“ He shrugged. „Well, we've discussed this before, so I won't expand this subject now.“

Sasuke felt humiliated, even more as he knew that the head of the police had a point.

„So my last question: do you have any suggestions how we may enhance your safety?“ 

Both boys thought the same: don't try to protect us, but leave our protection to ourselves. They knew better than to say this aloud, however.

„Allow me to stay with Naruto all the time“, Sasuke said. „I feel more comfortable when he's at my side, so that I can speak up when Madara tries again to convince him to sacrifice himself.“

„Aren't you together all the time already?“ 

„Most of the time. We aren't together during my horse-riding lessons, or when we're on patrol. We always go out with more experienced colleagues.“

„Neither of you will go on patrol anyway until we've dealt with Madara“, the head of the police said. He looked at Naruto: „What do you think about it? Do you feel safer with Sasuke at your side?“ 

Naruto had been very annoyed by Sasuke's suggestion. He had been on the point of declaring that he didn't need Sasuke, neither to protect him nor to speak up for him, but the phrasing of the question made him reconsider his answer.

„I feel safer when he's with me“, he said, thinking that with Sasuke at his side his chances of fighting off Madara were much greater. Together, they could even risk using the kyuubi, though only as a last resort. „I need to be with him when Madara again tries to lure him into a cooperation.“

The head of the police nodded. „So you'll stay together... You may now return to the training center and take up your classes. We'll find some meaningful work for you to do in the afternoon when your classmates are on patrol, so your time won't be wasted. Don't leave the building without permission – we need to organize your protection.“

The boys nodded. They both felt dumb and humiliated as they obeyed and returned to the training center. They reported back with the secretary and their teachers told them not to join the class but to look after Sasuke's horse, which needed to be fed, groomed and exercised. Naruto joined him – for the first time, actually. The horse had always been Sasuke's business, his private source of joy that had nothing to do with Naruto, and Naruto had always respected this, partly really out of respect for Sasuke's wishes, partly because he didn't like being in the situation of the third partner. 

Now it couldn't be avoided any longer: Naruto followed Sasuke to the stables, barely able to subdue his jealousy at the sight of Sasuke's anticipation or his joy when the horse greeted him by turning his head towards him and whinnying. 

„Hello, old boy, how are you, my cutie?“ Sasuke said, adapting the pitch of his voice to the horse's whinnying, just as he did when he talked to little children. He embraced the horse's neck and laid his cheek against its thick mane, and Naruto did not know whom he felt more jealous for: Sasuke or the horse. He got aware that unreserved embraces as those between Sasuke and the horse had become rare between the two of them, and he realized that he longed for them, but he also knew that the causes of their estrangement would not simply vanish.

„Come and say hello to my friend, too“, Sasuke told the horse and led it to Naruto. 

„Hello“, Naruto said. 

„You may caress him“, Sasuke said. „He likes that.“

Naruto reached out to touch the horse's mane, but he felt awkward, and between him and the mane there was the horse's mouth with a couple of strong teeth. 

„Don't be afraid“, Sasuke said. „Horses don't eat people, They eat grass and hay. You may feed him a cookie if you want.“

„I'm not afraid“, Naruto replied. „It's just that the horse senses the kyuubi's presence, and he won't let me touch him.“

„He's a bit shy, that's all. It's got nothing to do with the kyuubi.“

„It's the kyuubi“, Naruto insisted.

He withdrew from the horse, and was content to watch Sasuke care for the horse, and then ride it. He looked beautiful, Naruto thought, proud and strong, and at the same time gentle and caring. Sakura would like that.

Actually Sasuke did not do more then let the horse go at a walk and occasionally make it stop and then go again, and also turn left and right. After one hour or such exercising the horse he led him back to the stables and put some cover over him to warm him. When he left the stables with Naruto neither of them said a word.

They were still annoyed about not being allowed to go on patrol, because normally both of them enjoyed that part of their work (mostly because it felt more like work, and less like learning), but when they were sent to the public relations department of the police instead, where they were again asked for a description of Madara and then learnt how their informations were transformed into an article that could be released to the press, they were content again: At least they had the opportunity to learn a bit about the tasks of the police that were more complicated than ending conflicts between drunk people and comforting worried parents whose children had not turned up at ten p.m. 

When work was over they returned to the training center to wait for permission to leave and go home. To their surprise Juugo's fostermothers were already there, waiting for them: Some members of the police had turned up at their place, informing them that Juugo was at risk and that he needed to be protected, and immediately they had thought of Sasuke and Naruto and decided to accompany them on their way home. The two boys wondered how they intended to fight Madara in case he turned up, but they did not reject the offer: they'd protect the women if necessary.

It was actually the police that explained to the women that Sasuke and Naruto were well guarded and did not need any additional protection and that they should rather consider their own safety, but if as their legal guardians they wanted to accompany them on their way home and talk to them they were of course welcome to do so, and the police would protect them too. Indeed on their way home Sasuke and Naruto spotted an unusual number of colleagues, most of them in plain clothes. 

At the boys' flat the women made clear that they wanted more information, and that they would not leave before they knew what was going on. Sasuke asked them to sit down and prepared tea, then he joined them and Naruto at the table.

„Who's that Madara? And why is he targeting you?“ 

„He needs the kyuubi, that's sealed up in Naruto, and he needs me to control the bijuu. For Naruto it's worse, however, as Madara can simply beat him up and abduct him, while with me he needs to persuade me.“

„He can't simply beat me up“, Naruto said. „And don't forget that once already he has managed to draw you to his side.“

„He won't manage a second time“, Sasuke replied coolly. He turned to the women again: „What's worst, however, is some talking frog that tries to persuade Naruto to leave me and Music Town and instead save the world.“

„It's a toad, not a frog“, Naruto said, annoyed that apparently Sasuke insisted on calling Fugasaku a frog on purpose.

The women looked confused. „Why should you save the world?“ they asked.

„Because I'm the kyuubi's jinchuuriki, and the son of the Fourth Hokage.“

„What's that got to do with having to save the world?“ 

Naruto had to think before he could answer. „My father sealed the kyuubi inside me because he felt that I should be able to tame it, and to use it to save the world and establish peace.“

„Ah“, the woman replied, making clear that she was not convinced. 

„Look, we have kids of our own,“ her partner joined in. „When you hold a new-born child in your arms you mostly think of his or her present needs, that he or she is warm and healthy and gets fed, and that he's happy in your arms and feels comforted and knows that he's not alone, and you talk to him the way you talk to babies. But of course you also have dreams of what may become of the kid, that he turns out well, with a meaningful job and a couple of friends and hopefully one day with a partner and some kids of his own. Of course it's great to think that one day he might make a significant contribution to world peace. But you also always have to be prepared that your kids don't turn out according to your dreams, and you have to be ready to cope with this and still accept your child.“

„Actually it's very important to be prepared for this, as children have a tendency to develop their own dreams“, the first woman took up the idea. 

(In fact both Sasuke and Naruto had the impression that neither woman was ready to accept that against their wishes their daughters had turned out extremely girly, wearing pink all the time.) 

„So sealing the kyuubi inside you was a risky affair: What if you turned out not strong enough to cope with it, or if you developed some other dream?“

„But I am strong enough“, Naruto said. „And I do share my father's dream of peace. Also I am Jiraiya's student, and Jiraiya dreamt of peace too. There's a prophecy that one of Jiraiya's students would be the child of destiny that brings peace or utter destruction. I am that child of destiny, and I want to bring peace.“

„You're listening to a prophecy made by a talking frog“, Sasuke said.

„A toad!“ Naruto protested. 

Sasuke tried to take his hand, but Naruto withdrew it. 

„What kind of toad?“ the woman asked.

„They live at Myoboku mountain, where they practise meditation and senjutsu. They cultivate wisdom, and they're my friends.“

„But if they're your friends, why then do they tell you to leave behind your love and the happiness you found in Music Town for some vague dream of saving the world?“ 

„They mean well. They know it's my destiny. They know that I cannot escape my fate.“

Again, the woman looked not convinced. 

„You are running away from your fate if you leave Music Town now“, she said. Saving the world! Really, to me that sounds as if you're not content with your training at the police. It makes sense, as you mostly joined them in order to be with Sasuke, but if you're not happy there you should look for another career that's better suited to you and your skills and dreams. Saving the world, however, is no such career! It's a vague daydream you indulge in in order to run away from your life here and now.“


	119. Chapter One Hundred Sixteen: Thaw

The women left, and when Sasuke and Naruto accompanied them downstairs to the front door they saw that a lot of their colleagues, most of them in plainclothes, were on patrol around the building. 

Upstairs again they discussed how they should deal with their new situation: 

“If Madara really attacks we'll have to protect all these people who are trying to protect us,” Naruto said. “And we'll have to do it without inflicting too much damage on the town.”

Sasuke sat on the window sill, looking at their colleagues outside.

“We might lure Madara to some uninhabitated place,” he said. “Maybe to that garbage hill where we practised with Killerbee.”

“Or we should leave the town and wait for Madara to confront us somewhere in the wilderness. It might be the best way to protect the town.”

“People would try to prevent us from leaving.”

“Then we'll have to sneak out,” Naruto said. “We're ninja after all.”

“We'd be in trouble on our return. If it comes to the worst we'd be rogue nin again. But I guess we have to take this upon us if we want to protect the town.”

Their eyes met, and they smiled sadly, because neither of them liked the idea of leaving Music Town, but then Naruto smiled more broadly: they were united again, ready to fight side by side, ready to protect Music Town. 

They did not immediately pack their stuff, however: it was too late tonight to leave. The next morning, right after breakfast, some colleagues rang at their door bell and offered to accompany them to the training center: they were serious about protecting them and making sure that they did not go anywhere on their own. The only good thing about this was that instead of going on patrol Sasuke and Naruto were sent to the labs where people analyzed evidence from the sites of crimes, which was much more interesting than telling off people for smoking on playgrounds. 

It could not go on like this. Restrictions on them were too severe. In the evening when they had again to report to the secretary and wait for permission to go home Sasuke informed her that he needed to go to the ophtalmologist. 

“It's just to pick up my new contacts,” he said. “I've been there already to get them fitted to my new eyesight.”

 

Naruto was surprised: Sasuke had not mentioned anything about new contacts, and obviously he had even been to the ophtalmologist without him, Naruto, noticing anything. He had not been told that Sasuke's eyesight had worsened. He wondered about their estrangement: It was not that he considered breaking up, on the contary, it made him feel more acutely how he longed for Sasuke and how his heart would break if they decided to end their relationship. It was breaking now: something important had happened to Sasuke and he had not told him. How was he supposed to protect him if Sasuke did not inform him that his eyesight had worsened? 

The secretary informed her superiors about Sasuke's request, and after some time, which they spent waiting impatiently in the secretary's room, they were allowed to leave: Sasuke needed to see well, after all. Next time, however, he should inform the police earlier than just a minute before he intended to go, as they needed time to give new orders to the plainclothes policepeople responsible for their protection.

Indeed, when they left and went to the ophtalmologist they saw again their colleagues in all the streets, walking around, sometimes chatting with each other, and having an eye on them. One of them did not notice them until Naruto greeted her: she was first embarrassed, then she got angry and told him off, explaining to him that in order to maintain her incognito it was necessary that they pretended not to know each other.

Only at the ophtalmologist's place they were no longer under observation. Sasuke headed straight to the counter, where the doctor's assistant greeted him. 

“You've come to pick up your contacts, haven't you?” she said, smiling. “They have just arrived this morning. Do you have the money with you, or shall we send the bill?” 

“I have the money with me,” Sasuke said. “I also want to talk to the doctor, if that's possible.”

“It's possible, but you will have to wait.”

They waited silently, sitting side by side in the waiting-room, not reading any of the magazines. Naruto reached out to hold Sasuke's hand, and when Sasuke got called he got up with him and followed him to the doctor's room.

“Is it okay if he's with me?” Sasuke asked.

“It's your decision.”

Sasuke did not have the heart to send Naruto away, even though actually he would have felt more comfortable without him listening to his conversation to the doctor. (Actually he had hoped that the doctor would have sent him away.) At least now he could protect Naruto in case Madara turned up. 

“So what is it that you want to ask me?” 

“I need to know how strong these contacts may get, or how much worse my eyesight may become before I have problems that cannot be solved by new contacts.”

“Minus twenty dioptries is no problem. You are still far from that, and also, I don't think it will happen. Myopia often gets worse during adolescense, but normally it stabilized once you've grown up. So there's no need to worry. Maybe you need stronger contacts in two years, but then your eyesight will remain as it is. Though, actually” - he looked at Sasuke's file - “this was quite a large drop since we last met. Maybe we should have an eye on it. Maybe we should check your eyes in some six months again.”

“Or I return when I notice that my eyesight has gone worse again, so that I need again new contacts.”

“That's possible too. If there's another big drop we'll have to check whether you suffer from some underlying illness that causes it. But I don't think so. Probably you just grew a bit during these recent months, and your eyes grew too.”

Sasuke didn't think that he was still growing.

“But you'll soon stop to grow, and your eyes will remain as they are for the next thirty years, and then you'll need reading-glasses.”

Sasuke tried to imagine himself at the age of forty—seven. He'd be a successful policeman, on one of the upper levels of the hierarchy, spending more time behind his desk than on patrol. Or he'd be chief of the police in Konoha, also spending most of his time behind a desk. He'd still be with Naruto, hopefully, and they'd have a couple of kids. He could think it, but he could not imagine it. He'd die young, or he'd go blind and die lonely and desperate.

“So don't worry. We'll meet again in two years, as this is the normal life expectancy of contacts. Does this answer your questions?” 

“It does,” Sasuke answered. “Many thanks for taking time to talk to me.” He got up. 

“That's my job.” The doctor got up too. “So see you hopefully not too soon.”

It took Sasuke some seconds to understand that this was well-meant, and not an expression of dislike. “Yes – hopefully not too soon.”

“Or we meet somewhere else in town by chance,” the doctor said, realizing that his words had hurt Sasuke. 

“Yes. Maybe. Good-bye.”

He and Naruto left the doctor's place. Sasuke was silent, and Naruto sensed that the conversation with the doctor had stressed him more than he wanted to show.

“Let's get something to drink,” he said. 

He bought a coke for himself, and some coffee to go for Sasuke, and also some food, and then found them a park bench to sit on. There were policepeople all around them, some smiling, some looking rather annoyed, but Naruto did not care.

“Now tell me,” he said. “That's not ordinary myopia, is it?” 

Sasuke shook his head. “It's the Mangekyou. I got it when Itachi died in front of my eyes. I can use Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, I can control the kyuubi, and I will slowly turn blind. If I use the Mangekyou often I turn blind quickly.”

“So that's it,” Naruto said, processing the information. 

“I'm lucky that with these contacts my eyesight is normal again. I just fear that one day there won't be contacts strong enough to help me.”

“I'll be with you then,” Naruto said. “I'll lead you around.”

He laid his arm around Sasuke's shoulders, but Sasuke did not react. Being led around by Naruto was not what Sasuke wanted, and it was not how he envisioned their relationship.

“Maybe doctors here can do something that stops the process of turning more and more myopic,” Naruto suggested. 

“They don't know anything about ninja curses here,” Sasuke replied.

“You think you're cursed?” 

“The Uchiha were cursed, and now I'm the sole survivor, so I carry the full weight of the curse.” 

“That's rubbish,” Naruto said. “Ask our friends here: they will all tell you that you're not cursed.”

They had lived long enough in Music Town now to know the locals' reactions to such a story. 

“People here have no idea. They are well protected as children, and even as grown-ups they are firmly convinced that nothing bad can happen to them. They have no idea what it means to be cursed.”

“But not all Uchiha were cursed, were they? Not everyone had the Mangekyou?” 

“They were all cursed, and they are all dead, even those who did not have the Mangekyou. And I as the only one who remains have the Mangekyou now too. Itachi made sure that I got it, and now I will turn blind.”

“You shouldn't have fought him,” Naruto said, regretting his words immediately. He did not want to hurt Sasuke.

“He made sure I'd fight him,” Sasuke replied gloomily. “He made sure that I considered him crazy and a criminal, a monster who didn't deserve to live. He wanted me to be with him when he died. He wanted me to get the power of the Mangekyou, and he didn't care that I'd turn blind.”

“He was a ninja, and thought the way ninja think. He thought that for you power would be most important too.”

“He saw to it when he murdered the clan. He made sure to teach me that power was more important than anything else, that being powerful allowed you to do everything you want and that only power could prevent you from doing it.”

They were silent for a while. Naruto reflected on Sasuke's words, thinking that the murder of the clan might indeed have made him come to such a conclusion, and Sasuke wondered why Itachi had wanted him to acquire the Mangekyou if he was actually acting on order of the administration.

“He wanted me to be able to control the kyuubi. He wanted me to support you as a jinchuuriki, and to be a means of turning you into the village's ultimate weapon.”

“But we don't need that now,” Naruto said. “Killerbee teaches me to control the kyuubi on my own. You won't have to activate the Mangekyou again.”

He drew Sasuke closer to himself, and then kissed his cheek and his shoulders. He thought a bit. 

“You activated the Mangekyou last time we practised with Killerbee, didn't you? That was the weird pattern in your eyes when you turned up within my mind. That's why your myopia suddenly got worse.”

Sasuke nodded. 

“You didn't have to. I would have managed by myself.”

Sasuke remained silent. He looked hurt. 

“I know that I looked scary with one of the kyuubi's tails,” Naruto said. “But in the end I would have managed to get it back under control. It was not necessary to risk your eyesight for my sake.” 

“What should I have done then?” Sasuke asked. “Waited for you to sprout two tails? Or three? Or four?” 

Naruto imagined the situation from Sasuke's point of view: watching him, Naruto, desperately trying to get the kyuubi back under control, apparently without success.

“It's not just about us,” Sasuke said. “It's about the town too.”

He cared, Naruto thought. He had not jumped into his mind in order to control him and to gain power over him, but because he had really seen this as a last resort. He had not done it easily, and he had risked his own eyesight for it. He had cared not only for him, but for Music Town too. Naruto felt deeply moved, and something within him melted. Some of his trust that Sasuke was basically a good person returned. He kissed Sasuke on his cheek again, and this time Sasuke returned the kiss. Naruto laid his hand on Sasuke's thigh and let it wander to his crotch: a bold gesture in public, even according to the standards of Music Town, but Naruto didn't care. Sasuke searched for his mouth with his own, and for the first time since an eternity (actually only a bit more than a week) they kissed without reserve, thinking only of the kiss and not of a dozen other things. (Most of all they did not care about the policepeople who were still watching them from afar.)

Sasuke broke off the kiss to look at Naruto and caress his whisker marks. “I want you human,” he said. “That's why I intervened.”

“I don't want you blind,” Naruto answered, caressing Sasuke's cheek bones and his brows, and then carefully kissing his closed lids.

“Blind's still human,” Sasuke said.


	120. Chapter One Hundred Seventeen: Temptation

“You don't need to turn blind,” a voice said right next to them.

Being busy kissing neither Sasuke nor Naruto had paid attention to what was going on around them, but they recognized the voice well by now. 

“You can still transplant Itachi's eyes.”

The boys looked up. Madara disappeared from his place behind the boys' bench and reappeared in front of it. 

“It's not necessary,” Sasuke said. “People here have other means to return my eyesight back to normal.” He thought for a second. “Means that don't include any risky surgery and that leave Itachi's body intact.”

Itachi should be cremated properly, he thought. Obviously he was still at Madara's head quarters. Meaning that he , Sasuke, needed to retrieve the body.

“It won't work indefinitely,” Madara said. “Your eyesight will deteriorate more and more, and then whatever means they have here won't be strong enough to give your eyesight back to you. You'll be blind then.”

“It won't matter,” Naruto said, laying his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. “I'll look after him.”

Sasuke leant against him, and they clung to each other as they had the during their first encounter with Madara in Music Town. This time, however, there were a lot of their fully-trained colleagues around them, trying to protect them. Two of them were approaching Madara from behind. 

“You don't have any idea about the means they have here,” Sasuke said. “So don't tell me how long they will work.”

“Transplanting Itachi's eyes and obtaining the Mangekyou Sharingan will also give you powers the world hasn't seen before,” Madara continued. “You'll become invincible. Not only the kyuubi but all the bijuu will do your bidding. You'll move through different dimensions as easily as you walk through the streets of this town. You'll be immortal and stay young forever.”

“What use would that be when Naruto grows old at my side and dies? And what would I use that power for – to defeat you? I wonder why you offer it to me.” Sasuke smiled, then another thought crossed his mind. “Also, people in this town have other powers at their disposal, and they teach them to us. I don't need the power I gain through Itachi's eyes.” 

Naruto was listening and watching what was happening around them. Now he decided to intervene: “We should discuss this elsewhere,” he said. “There's too many people here.”

Sasuke and Madara looked around: Two policewomen who were supposed to protect the boys were approaching them. Naruto got up, and dragging Sasuke after him he took position between Madara and the policewomen. The women, however, simply went around them.

“You heard it: these boys don't want to talk to you, so you leave them alone now,” one of them said. “Also, we need to check your identity. So if you please show us your ID or some other official documents.”

Madara vanished. The policewoman looked perplexed. 

“That's his space-time-ninjutsu,” Naruto explained. “And you shouldn't try to arrest him just by talking to him. He's an extremely powerful ninja, not someone who stole his firm's money.”

The woman still looked perplexed. 

“At least he left, and stopped harassing you,” her colleague said. 

“He still thinks that eventually he will be able to persuade me to follow him again,” Sasuke said. “He still doesn't risk a fight against the two of us, and even more he avoids a confrontation with people in Music Town. There will be a point, however, when he realizes that he can't persuade me, and then you better keep at a safe distance.”

“You better be careful too,” the woman said. “We'll accompany you home now.”

It was absurd, but the boys obeyed. Only when they were alone in their flat they talked about what had happened. 

“Our plan was to lure him out of town,” Naruto said. “You just kept talking to him.”

“What should I have done?” Sasuke replied. “What should I have said? Should I have told him to come with me so that we could fight without destroying the town?”

Naruto shrugged. It wouldn't have worked, and also, he wasn't very eager to fight. He enjoyed life, after all. However he knew that he and Sasuke would have to fight Madara eventually, and risk their lives. It was their duty.

“Next time we'll manage,” he said. “We'll lure Madara out of town, and fight him, and die as true Shinobi.”

Sasuke nodded, and smiled faintly. His smile lit the broader and more open smile of Naruto, who felt all warm and tender suddenly. They were sitting side by side on the sofa, but now Naruto changed position so that he half lay, half sat on Sasuke's lap.

“We'll die side by side,” he said. “We'll grow old side by side and then die as old men, or we'll die now side by side when we fight Madara. It won't matter.”

Formerly he had thought that love meant to protect each other, and be ready to sacrifice yourself for each other, but now it seemed that dying side by side was much more appropriate.

He caressed Sasuke's face and neck. Sasuke looked out of the window, lost in thoughts. He was still most beautiful like this, Naruto thought, serious and soft at the same time. He sometimes lost sight of Sasuke's beauty, mostly when Sasuke made a fool of himself trying to adapt to the standards of Music Town, but now he saw it again. 

Sasuke smiled and looked down at Naruto and appeared even more beautiful.

“If we die fighting Madara we cannot drive Danzou out of office,” he said. “And I want you to become Hokage of Konoha.”

He returned Naruto's gesture, caressing his face and his neck, and most of all the whisker marks, he bent down to kiss his cheeks and then Naruto returned the kiss and they remained kissing for several minutes, their lips and tongues playing with each other.

They broke up the kiss when Sasuke needed to change position as the old one was getting uncomfortable. He lay down next to Naruto, supporting himself on his elbows. 

“You should have told me about the Mangekyou and its risks,” Naruto said. 

“What would it have changed?” 

Naruto shrugged. “I would have known,” he replied. 

Again they caressed each other's faces, and then also their chests. Sasuke moved his hand under Naruto's shirt, and again looked at him, and Naruto's smile gave him permission to change the nature of his caresses: not just tender any more, but arousing. After a while Naruto sat up to open the buttons of Sasuke's shirt, and they touched each other's bodies as they had not done for quite a while, making certain that each square centimetre of skin got its due share of attention.

Naruto still wanted to be careful because of the kyuubi, so he stopped Sasuke's hand on his cock before he could have climaxed. In solidarity, Sasuke reclined from having an orgasm too: Naruto tried to convince him to have one all the same (Sasuke's behaviour did not seem logical to him at all), but then he understood him and stopped to insist. For the moment, what they had was enough.

The next morning they were called to the head of the police's office (luckily during some rather boring class.) 

“I've been informed about yesterday's incident,” the head of the police said. “I hope you can provide me with more details. Also I need to know why you did not go home promptly after your visit to the ophtalmologist.”

“I needed to know why his eyesight had worsened,” Naruto replied.

“Could that not have waited until you were at home again?”

“No. It was important.”

The head of the police did not seem convinced.

“So because it was important to know about the nature of Sasuke's short-sightedness you spent several minutes on the park bench, kissing and making out, and not paying attention to what was going on around you. So what happened when Madara turned up? What did you talk about?” 

Naruto looked at Sasuke. Sasuke was glad that Naruto had not mentioned the Mangekyou so far, as he didn't want people in Music Town to know about it (mostly because he felt ashamed of it because of the way it was acquired.) Now he would have to speak for himself: 

“Madara offered me my dead brother's eyes,” he said.

“What? What for?” the head of the police asked, looking disgusted. 

“To transplant them.”

“Just to cure your short-sightedness? Is that not a bit extreme?” 

“It's a ninja thing,” Sasuke explained, making his voice sound as neutral as possible (or, in Naruto's perception, taking resort to his old habit of appearing extremely arrogant.) “By transplanting another ninja's body parts we can acquire his special skills.”

“Without training?” 

“With some training. The point is that without these body parts you cannot learn these special skills at all, no matter how much you train. It's techniques that are ingrained into the other person's body.”

“That's gross,” the head of the police said. “Mutilating another person's dead body in order to acquire his skills. Did you accept the offer?”

“No.”

“Good. Don't accept anything.”

“I wouldn't want to desecrate my brother's body either,” Sasuke said. “I want to retrieve it, and cremate it according to our customs.”

“We'll inform the ninja countries about your request. They haven't yet been able to locate Madara's base, but they are working on it. They should succeed soon. - So can you tell us more details about your conversation with Madara?”

Sasuke retold the conversation as well as he could. The head of the police nodded approvingly, making Sasuke feel a bit more comfortable. In the end Naruto took up the thread again, telling how the policewomen had come to their rescue and how Madara had vanished.

“That space-time-jutsu is really a nuisance,” the head of the police said. “How shall we arrest him if he can simply escape to another dimension?” He looked at the boys. “Do you know anything about this jutsu? Does it have any weak spots? Any prerequisites?” 

“I can do some space-time jutsu myself,” Sasuke said. “Though not on that level. It costs me a lot of chakra so that I only use it as a last resort, not because I am too lazy to walk. I could follow Madara into that other dimension, however, and fight him there.”

“Don't. It's too risky. If you want to be useful try to think of some method to prevent him from using the jutsu. Our aim is still to arrest him in Music Town.”

“You shouldn't,” Naruto replied. “He won't allow himself to be arrested without a fight. Your staff is no match for him. Yesterday they were lucky that he used his jutsu instead of fighting them.”

Surprisingly, the head of the police admitted that probably the women had made a mistake: “I've talked to them and instructed them not to attempt to arrest him until he's ready to surrender.”

“I don't think this will ever happen,” Naruto said.

“It will, when he understands that his situation is hopeless. The ninja countries are searching for his base, and the main reason why they haven't yet found it is that they still disagree about details of their cooperation, and also whether they should include Konoha or not. As soon as they've sorted out these difficulties they will find the base and uplift it. Also we have arrested one of Madara's henchmen.”

“Kisame?”

“Some weird guy with leaves. Is that Kisame?” 

“No, that's the weird plant guy. Kisame is a weird shark guy.”

“Ah.”

“How did you manage to capture the plant guy?” 

“He was tracking a friend of yours, Karin. When our staff noticed him they approached Karin in order to shield her against a possible attack, and when the plant guy saw this he vanished. Really, there should be a law against these vanishing jutsu. Though with the plant guy we were lucky: Karin saw that the man's chakra vanished into the earth, not into some other dimension, meaning that we could take counter measures. The next time we met him we lured him onto the sidewalk so that the earth was no longer accessible to him.”

“How did you manage to lure him to a place that's hostile to him, robbing him of his powers?” 

“They drew him into a conversation. One of our staff approached him, saying that he looked as if he had lost his way, and whether she might help him. He reacted confused, and when she pointed out to him the direction to the central market place with the tourist information and the main attractions for tourists he followed her to the sidewalk. It seems that being talked to was such an extraordinary situation for him that he lost his ability to protect himself. We arrested him, and currently he's in prison. He enjoys talking and gives us a lot of useful information. We have to keep his feet in a flower-pot, however, and water him every other hour. Really, you ninja produce strange people.”

“Sasuke and I have nothing to do with the plant guy,” Naruto said. “He's not even from Konoha.”

“It wasn't personal. So I have a task for the two of you: Next time Madara talks to you you don't discuss his offer. Instead you try to extract information from him: We need to know about his aims, his strategies, and his vulnerabilities. I wish I could shield you effectively from every contact with him, but with his space-time jutsu this is impossible. We will still do our best to protect you, and else we'll try to make the best of the situation. I'll organize some special training for you.”

“You don't need to worry about us,” Naruto said. “We are extremely powerful ninja.” 

“Also I can already tell you about one of Madara's weak spots,” Sasuke added: “He loves to tell stories.”


	121. Chapter One Hundred Eighteen: Konoha, how dangerous is it really?

Slowly the restrictions on Sasuke and Naruto were lifted. Mostly this took the form of more and more exceptions being granted and of “protection” being organized more quickly. They needed to train for their dance tournament, after all, and also they were allowed to meet their friends at the riverside, even though their superiors still did not consider it appropriate for prospective policemen to have such acquaintances. 

The young people were more serious and down to earth than on other days. University was going to start soon, and they needed to organize themselves and could not stay up until late in the night any more. (Also, it got dark now rather early.) They had news for Sasuke and Naruto: 

“There's a lecture on Konoha at the university,” they said. “We thought you might be interested.”

They were interested, of course, and for the first time they sought out the university. It had a representative main building with a pair of stone dragons in front of it, but when they were inside and asked for directions they were told that the lecture would take place at the department for modern history, which had its rooms in one of the minor buildings. They were given an address and a lengthy explanation how to get there, completely unnecessarily, as by now they knew even the tiniest streets in the center of Music Town. The most difficult part was finding out that the historians had their rooms in the backyard, and then finding the one where the lecture actually took place (right under the roof, and it was rather shabby too). 

The result was that they were late, even though they had set out quite early. They were lucky that the door opened to the back of the room so that they did not have to go past the rest of the audience (it was bad enough that people turned their heads at them.) They had just missed the introduction of the woman who was going to speak.

The lecture's title was “Konoha: how dangerous is it really?” Not only Naruto but Sasuke too felt a bit disturbed by the title: As much as he hated Danzou, and as little as he cared for the people of Konoha he still did not like the idea of people being afraid of it, or considering it an evil place. He was from Konoha too, after all, and if foreigners considered Konoha dangerous and evil he was included into that distrust.

Naruto suppressed the urge to speak up and protest against the title. Just as Sasuke he felt intimidated by the situation: There were some old people around, looking like ordinary old people of Music Town, but the rest of the audience were young people clad in black in a rather shabby way with brightly coloured hair: the same kind of clothes the young people at the riverside wore, whom Sasuke and Naruto had learnt to respect as very intelligent and much better educated than themselves. The speaker herself looked pretty normal, however. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto dared to ask a question in this situation. 

The speaker announced that she would first give a brief overview over Konoha's history and culture and then discuss the current situation, the danger posed by Konoha both to the ninja countries in general and to Music Town in particular, and also what could be done about these dangers. 

She began with the foundation of Konoha, with the alliance between Senju and Uchiha, and Naruto felt Sasuke grow tense while he listened to the story, and he laid his hand on Sasuke's arm. Sasuke had already read about this early alliance in the history book he had got from the library, but he had not known what had happened afterwards: Being united the two clans felt strong enough to capture the kyuubi, and their new lord ordered them to use it to enlarge his territory, taking advantage of the fact that his neighbours were all exhausted by the long war. 

“We shouldn't judge him too harshly,” the woman said. “It was the way of thinking at the time, and other countries had also grown considerably, while others had vanished completely. In fact having only a dozen powerful nations instead of every valley fighting against its neighbour valley had pacifying effects, at least during the years between the three ninja world wars. It appears that in spite of these great wars this century's death toll is lower than that of previous ones.”

She continued to explain that though the surviving countries had agreed to some kind of truce, or peace agreement mainly in order to ensure their victory over their more unlucky rivals there remained a huge obstacle to true peace in the form of the kyuubi, and the ninja village set up by the daimyou of what was later to be known as Fire Country. Naruto froze when he heard the woman tell this in a matter-of-fact way. He had not known that the founders of Konoha had captured the kyuubi on purpose in order to use it as a weapon, but had always thought that it had been roaming free before the time of his birth.

He forced himself to listen again to the woman telling how the other countries founded their own ninja villages and captured the remaining bijuu, and how one of them, a country that no longer existed, attacked Fire Country in order to reduce it to its former, more appropriate size. The war lasted for several years, it involved practically all the ninja countries, and later it was called the First Ninja World War. It resulted in a full victory of Fire Country and its allies.

“The most important consequence of the war was the redefinition of the relationship between the daimyou of Fire Country and his ninja village,” the woman continued. “The two clans who had founded it had secured themselves a considerable amount of independence, but when the war started the daimyou considered himself commander of his army of ninja, being responsible for all major strategic decisions. Some of his decisions had disastrous consequences, almost leading to open mutiny, and it was only when the ninja took charge that they were able to turn the table and lead their side to victory. They used this fact to recover their former independence when the war ended, and also to gain a couple of new rights. For example they were no longer subject to the jurisdiction of Fire Country but were allowed to make up their own laws, based on their more archaic ninja code of honour. Most of all, however, they had now gained a foothold in the government of Fire Counter: They were responsible for foreign affairs now in addition to the defense department. They focused on security question of course, and left minor matters as trade agreements to the civilian authorities, though they still claimed the right to have the last word on those too.”

Naruto tried to follow her. He had always taken it for granted that ninja lived according to their own laws. They were different from civilians, weren't they, braver and more courageous, and ready to fight to protect civilians. He looked at Sasuke who had relaxed by now, his hand lying gently on Naruto's arm, listening intently. 

“In the other countries there were similar developments with the ninja villages partly taking charge of the government while retaining their independence and their privileges. They were not only their countries' standing armies and secret services but also had the power to decide about peace and war and how to deal with conflicts with other countries in general. Thus the ninja countries became places dominated by the military, which in its own turn was no longer answerable to civilian authorities. This situation lasts until the present day, though there are several developments that give us hope for a change. It makes our continent one of a few places in the world where the military has gained almost complete control also of the civilian sector, and the only one that's currently not at war. Only here the military is in charge even in times of peace.”

Naruto wondered that someone was questioning this arrangement. Ninja fought wars, so it seemed natural that they should have the last word about fighting them or not. Civilians could not be trusted with such a matter. On the other hand it made sense that in times of peace it was not necessary that ninja had that much power. 

“When we look at history, however, we'll find situations of the military establishing itself as some kind of elite on   
other continents too. It were always unstable situations, often resulting in explosions, concretely in wars. This is because members of the military have a tendency to see the world only in terms of security issues, perceiving threats everywhere, or opportunities to increase their power. Under normal circumstances this is no problem as there's other branches of government to balance this: Economists who see markets, not threats, when they look at other countries, and artists or scientists who see opportunities for cultural and scientific exchange. 

So we have a whole continent dominated by the military and for a long time the result was a constant state of war. Mostly the ninja villages were able to confine it to some kind of low-level war – they don't long for continentwide wars either, knowing that a lot of them will die during such a war, they just haven't learnt of other ways of dealing with their opponents. Some skirmish here, some ambush or kidnapping there, and then a temporary truce: that's their idea of sorting out a conflict. For many years they managed to avoid wars that included more than two ninja villages, and they made sure that civilians did not get hurt, except that their fields got ruined. 

The Second Ninja World War changed that situation. It started like any other minor conflict, with one village, in this case Konoha, attacking one of its less powerful rivals, Amegakure. Almost every ninja village had been in negotiations with Amegakure about a strategical alliance, and in Amegakure itself there were different factions preferring different allies, and some proposed that keeping an equal distance to all the great powers - just what Music Town is doing now - might be the best solution. So they were in negotiations with everyone else, irritating their partners by never saying yes or now, or, even worse, one negotiator saying yes and his colleague saying no. 

In the end Konoha lost patience and decided to end negotiations by attacking Amegakure. They had not taken into account, however, that this attack was considered an affront by all the villages that had been in negotiations with Amegakure too, so that they now rushed into the war in order to assist the small village. Konoha managed to secure itself some allies among the villages further apart, who had not shown any interest in Amegakure, and some of the minor villages, rivals rather of Amegakure than of the great powers, and thus started the Second Ninja World War.”

Naruto wanted to speak up and tell the woman that not Konoha as a whole was responsible for the war but only Danzou. No one else asked any questions or spoke up to contradict the woman, however, and so Naruto refrained from it too. 

“It was the worst war the ninja world has ever seen. During the First Ninja World War the bijuu had been present as a threat, but they were used very cautiously due to the fact that people had not yet learnt how to properly control them. The technique of sealing bijuu into human beings and turning them into jinchuuriki had not yet been discovered. During the Second Ninja World War, however, the art of controlling the bijuu was at a level that's never been achieved again, and they caused hitherto unimaginable devastations. In the end the civilian populations, including the daimyou, urged the ninja to negotiate for peace, and even in the ninja villages themselves voices calling for peace grew louder. Ninja suffered from the war just as much as civilians, or worse, as they were more likely to die, and only their leaders were out of danger.”

Again Naruto froze when he heard the woman speaking nonchalantly of jinchuuriki, apparently without any compassion, just seeing them as a means to control the bijuu. Also she spoke as if she took it for granted that having a bijuu controlled by a jinchuuriki was as normal for Konoha as it was for Suna or Kumo. 

“The daimyou, fearing for their power, made sure that people ready to negotiate for peace rose to the top positions in the ninja villages, and after some complicated negotiations they came up with a peace settlement.

So the Second Ninja World War brought about a change of the way of thinking in the ninja countries, and also among the ninja themselves. For the first time they questioned the necessity of constant war and began to strive for a more stable situation with well-accepted borders between countries and sovereignty within the borders. The heads of the ninja villages still saw the world mostly from a military point of view, regardring other countries as potential threats or allies that had to be balanced against each other and not as opportunities for cultural, economic or scientific exchange or cooperation, but they had become more careful and thought not twice but twenty times before they attacked a small place that seemed to give a strategic advantage: they had understood that what appeared a good opportunity to enlarge one's country's territory might be a road to disaster both for you and your people. 

Not all of them adopted that new way of thinking. There were still those who believed that increasing one's village's power, not treaties and alliances or, from one's own side, predictability and reliability, were the key to safety and peace...”


	122. Chapter One Hundred Nineteen: Bad News for people in Konoha

The woman continued her lecture: 

“These changes in the way of thinking about political problems occured in all the ninja countries. They didn't affect everyone, of course, and those whose thoughts and attitudes still ran on the old lines competed for the top positions with those who considered stability and reliability a more certain way to peace than increasing one's own power. In Konoha the head figures in this fight about the best policy were Sarutobi Hiruzen, the late Sandaime, and Shimura Danzou, who is now Hokage in Konoha. Both were supported by large fractions of the population, and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the upper hand.

This is all very similar to the conflicts in other ninja countries where people had difficulties to adjust to the demands of the a new era where strength and power were not everything. In Konoha, however, instead of continuing the conflict forever, they found some kind of compromise: Sarutobi Hiruzen became Hokage, while Danzou was allowed to form his own organization, Root, according to his own ideology. Root sought peace for Konoha using the traditional ways of ninja: spying, cheating, assassinating enemies. They were even allowed to adopt the training system that at the time was set up by all the hawks in the ninja villages whenever they came to power and that's only recently been abolished by Kiri: making students fight and kill each other to see not only who was strongest but also who was most ruthless and most ready to obey even a horribly cruel order. The only thing forbidden to Root were open attacks against other countries: people had not forgotten that an attack from Danzou's side had started the Second Ninja World War.”

Naruto thought of Sai and his friend. Sasuke caressed Naruto's hand: “That's what they had in mind for us too,” he said.

“So while Danzou was engaged in hidden warfare the Sandaime did his best to stabilize the fragile peace between the ninja countries through treaties and acts of mutual trust. Both Danzou and Hiruzen considered their division of power and responsibility a good compromise and a great way to find out whose approach to peace was more successful in the long run.

For a while this combination worked. Danzou saw himself and his organization as the ugly, hidden part of the military organization of Konoha. They were those who were ready to do what was necessary, even though the rest of the population considered it immoral. The Sandaime represented what was above the earth, beautiful and shiny, and for this reason he considered himself more important and the better man, but he wasn't: the roots are as important to the tree's survival as the leaves. This is how Danzou saw himself.

The division of work between Danzou and the Sandaime ended with the assassination of a close relative of the Tsuchikage, which resulted what was later called the Third Ninja World War, though it was mainly a war between Iwa and Konoha. The civilian populations weren't hurt as badly as during the Second Ninja World War, but there were more casualties among the ninja themselves, and also the war ended with a clear result: Konoha was defeated.

The conflict between Danzou and the Sandaime, which until then had been kept in check by their compromise, broke out again in full force, and fully in the open. Only few people remained neutral, or undecided. There were those who supported the Sandaime, who insisted that Danzou's activities had caused the war, and those who took Danzou's side, claiming that Konoha's refusal to use the kyuubi had caused the defeat. All other ninja villages still had their bijuu at their disposal, only Konoha had refrained from creating a new jinchuuriki after the Second Ninja World War.”

Naruto shivered again as he listened to the woman's cold, rational voice, and Sasuke drew him closer to his side. 

“It's difficult to tell whether the lack of a jinchuuriki was the reason for Konoha's defeat,” the woman continued. “After all, even though the other villages still had their jinchuuriki, they didn't use them. On the other hand, if Konoha had used its bijuu it might have won the war as the kyuubi is stronger than any other bijuu, though not stronger than all other bijuu combined. It's futile to discuss this in detail, however: Konoha lost the war, and it did so mainly because its enemies were too strong and too many. The discussion about using the kyuubi or not occured mainly because after such a defeat people look for some reason. Admitting that they were just too weak does not come easily to anyone.

So after the war Danzou claimed the title of Hokage for himself, laying the entire blame for the defeat on the Sandaime, and he managed to gain the support of a majority of the population of Konoha. Only a clever move of the Sandaime prevented him from rising to the post of Hokage already at that time: Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped down from office and suggested a young war hero, Namikaze Minato, as his successor. Minato was extremely popular at the time, and nobody voiced any objections. Even Danzou gave his consent, mostly because he considered Minato young and inexperienced when it came to politics. He considered himself able to guide Minato's actions and gain power as the man behind the throne.

It became soon clear that he had seriously underestimated the young Hokage. One of Minato's first actions was to initiate a thorough investigation of Root's activities and also of the power dynamics within the organization, and then to disband it, declaring that far from giving stability to Konoha Root's activities had undermined it, making the Sandaime's efforts to build trust and friendship between the ninja countries appear dishonest and pure hypocrisy. Enough people found this argument convincing, and Root ceased to exist as a legal organization. Danzou was removed to the shadows, as he saw his new situation, and while Minato lived he remained there, virtually without any power, watching impotently how Minato managed to reestablish Konoha's position as the most powerful of all ninja villages.

 

The kyuubi's attack only a few years after Minato took office was an ideal opportunity for Danzou to rise from the shadows again. As the Hokage it was Minato's duty to fight in the first line in the face of an extraordinary threat, and sacrifice himself if necessary.”

Naruto had felt proud when he had heard the praise the woman gave to his father, but again the way she spoke of his death appeared to him cold and without any compassion.

“After his death Sarutobi Hiruzen resumed the office of Hokage: Danzou's power base was still too weak to give a new attempt to obtain the office of Hokage any prospect of success. For this reason he did not object to Hiruzen's new rise to power, but be made use of the occasion to announce that if people had listened to him and if a jinchuuriki had been created there would not have been an attack of the kyuubi at all. 

The argument seemed to make sense, and slowly Danzou's influence grew. A major step was achieved when he had managed to draw the late Sandaime's two councillors to his side when Tsunade was made Hokage. They are of his own age and tend to see the world in military terms too, and only their loyalty to the Third Hokage had kept them from speaking out against him. They had no issues speaking out against Tsunade, and they could count on their popularity, on people's distrust against Tsunade after her long absence. Having drawn them to his side Danzou had got a foot into the door to the Hokage's tower, and he used it to seize power when Tsunade had to resign for health reasons.

So let us now have a look at the present situation. Danzou has been in power for half a year now, and since then he had directed all of Konoha's energy into its military, allegedly in order to strengthen it against attacks from other countries. He has subjected Konoha's shinobi to a regime of discipline and austerity, cancelling missions and making them focus on the village's defense. Dissent is forbidden and discouraged to a degree that exceeds by far the usual level of conformity in the ninja countries. He has created an atmosphere of tension and oppression, and it seems only a matter of time when this mix will explode. 

There's a growing fear in the ninja countries that the explosion will take the form of a war against one of the other villages, probably under the pretext of being attacked by that village. Such an attack would justify Danzou's efforts to strengthen the military and silence voices within Konoha that call for a release of the strain the village is under, threatening Danzou's position, while on the other hand the necessity of standing together against an attack from outside would strengthen it.

People here in Music Town and in the ninja villages fear that Danzou might fake such an attack in order to start a war, and give advice to increase military spending in the other villages too to enable us to stand our ground when Danzou attacks. There are, however, a number of reasons why we should not choose this course of action: 

First, we should avoid to give Danzou any reason to claim that he was attacked by some other country. We should make clear that we won't take up the challenge and won't engage in any arms race. Everyone including the people of Konoha shall know that we don't threaten anyone. This is the best way to avoid a war. 

Second I think that the basic assumption of those who suggest increases in military spending is wrong. Danzou is not planning a war. All his talk is about strengthening Konoha's defense, and not about increasing its offensive power. We should not dismiss this as insignificant: since he has become Hokage he has not threatened any other ninja village. Our only basis for assuming that he might do so in the future is the oppression he imposes on his own people. There's no automatism, however, that leads directly from inner tensions to an attack against a foreign country. In fact it is far more likely that Danzou will react to demands of a more liberal policy with higher levels of oppression, not with starting a war, least of all in a situation where he cannot be certain of his shinobi's support. Hoping that they will follow him into a new war and unite against some common enemy is a risky affair: The illusion that Konoha was on the point of being attacked will only last for limited time, and certainly Danzou's popularity will crumble as soon as the war gets difficult. People will begin to ask questions, and they will soon realize that there never existed any threat from any other ninja village, and that it was Danzou himself who started the war.

Danzou is realistic enough to know that a military defeat of Konoha would signify the end of his political career, and he's also realistic enough to know that Konoha cannot win a war against all the other ninja countries. He started the Second Ninja World War when Konoha was at the height of its power, and still Konoha could not win it, so he knows that now a defeat is absolutely certain. 

So my prediction is that he will continue to increase the oppression in Konoha and to silence any form of dissent, and make sure that he remains in power and that his successor to the position of Hokage will be one whose way of thinking resembles that of himself. 

This is bad news of the people in Konoha, of course, but for the rest of the ninja world it means that there is no reason to be afraid of Konoha: the village is busy with itself and does not have the capacity to attack anyone else.”

Again there was this coldness in the woman's voice. She seemed passionate enough when she spoke against engaging in some arms race, but completely indifferent to the fate of people in Konoha, Naruto thought.

“The third and most important reason why we should not engage in an arms race against some potential threat from Konoha is that this means to cede power to the military again when he have just managed to wrest it from them. Just look at those who have suggested increases in military spending: Most of them are from the ninja villages themselves, people who grew up with the idea that the world is divided into enemies and friends and whose thinking still runs mainly on these lines. They can't think of any reaction to Konoha but to answer threat with threat. We should not listen to them, and we should not abandon our own ways of thinking. We need to come up with new, non-aggressive answers to Konoha's efforts to increase their military strength, and most of all, we should not hand competence for foreign affairs to the ninja villages again but keep them in the hands of civilians.”


	123. Chapter One Hundred Twenty: Questions

The lecture had ended, and the person who had introduced the speaker got up again and asked the audience to bring forth their questions. Both Sasuke and Naruto were overwhelmed by the lecture at first and had to sort out their thoughts before they could speak up. Not even their discussions with the young people at the riverside had prepared them to the woman's way of thinking about politics.

They listened to the questions asked by other people. Most of them were asked by old people who thought that the woman was not critical enough when it came to Konoha. They said that Konoha had already shown its true character when it attacked Amegakure, meaning that the ninja world should be wary now and do everything to contain it and not let it start a war again. The woman indeed held Danzou responsible for the attack against Amegakure (which after all had started the Second Ninja World War), but came to different conclusions:

“Danzou knows that Konoha doesn't stand a chance in another war,” she said. “He won't attack anyone as long as he does not feel threatened. And even if he attacks one of the other villages he won't be able to start another Ninja World War. He'll be beaten soon, maybe after some initial success. Konoha is too weak to win another war.”

When he had understood the rules of the discussion Sasuke began to enjoy it: Obviously he was surrounded by people who considered Danzou evil and a danger to world peace. With time, however, his feelings grew more ambivalent: People's resentments had its origins in a time when his clan had been an integral part of Konoha, and in all likelihood they had supported the wars just as anyone else.

For Naruto the situation was more difficult. In his opinion the woman was far too critical of Konoha, and even more he was hurt by the fact that most people in the audience spoke of Konoha, not of Danzou, as if the whole village and not its current Hokage alone was responsible for the threat against them, or for the Second Ninja World War. It took him some time to summon the courage to ask a question of his own: 

“You said that the other villages captured their own bijuu,” he said. “But in fact it was the Shodai Hokage who tamed them all and distributed them to the other villages to make sure that they were all of the same strength, and to establish peace. He loved peace, as did all his successors, with the exception of Danzou.”

The woman looked as if he had said something really weird, and it took her some seconds to come up with a reply.

“Where did you hear that?” she asked. 

“I heard it from Jiraiya.”

“The Jiraiya who wrote Icha-Icha?” 

“Yes.”

“Was he not from Konoha himself?” 

“He was a ninja of Konoha,” Naruto replied. “Writing Icha-Icha was something he only did for fun when his tasks as a ninja left him time for it.”

The woman swallowed, and obviously she chose her words very carefully when she spoke again:

“Look, Jiraiya was a great author, and maybe also a great ninja, but he wasn't a historian. Also being from Konoha himself doesn't make him a reliable source. Of course generously giving away the bijuu makes the Shodai Hokage appear in a better light than gambling away Konoha's position as the only village with a bijuu of its own. But if you think about it you'll understand that giving away the bijuu does not make sense.”

“He wanted to achieve peace,” Naruto said. “He gave away the bijuu to gain the other villages' trust by seeing that they were all of equal strength.”

“You don't give away horrible weapons in order to create trust,” the woman said. “And concerning the equilibrium of power you are alluding to: It's not something that's created intentionally. It comes into existence as each country strives to draw equal with its opponents. Some theories claim that such an equilibrium provides for stability and peace, but it's always a fragile equilibrium and if it fails, as it happened a couple of times in the history of the ninja countries, you get a horrible war.

But that's from the point of view of an outside observer. From the point of view of a powerful country – and the Shodai Hokage was in office at a time when Konoha was at the height of its power - the world is safest when it remains the strongest country of all, and every other country, or even all other countries combined, are too weak to attack it. Giving away the bijuu helped the other countries gain military strength, to a point that they were strong enough to attack Konoha. It does not make sense. Helping other countries economically would have made sense, however: it would have gained their trust without compromising Konoha's safety.”

The woman stopped talking. She looked at Naruto, hoping for a sign of understanding and approval, but Naruto was still busy processing her words. He was not content at all with what he had heard, and also he felt humiliated. He sought for words to defend his position, but the person who was doing the moderation had already asked for the next question. Anyway the discussion ended soon, and people were preparing to leave.

“If you want you can continue this discussion in a lesd formal atmosphere,” the moderator said, and then gave the name and address of a restaurant in the vicinity. Most people left, however, and only a few remained, assembling around the speaker and waiting for her to leave too. Most of them gave the impression of knowing her personally, or at least of being from the university, and Sasuke felt insecure whether the invitation included him and Naruto too, but when he asked he was told that it was all fine if they joined the group too. Naruto felt insecure even whether he wanted to join at all.

“This woman is an expert on Konoha,” Sasuke said. “We need to ask her for more information.”

Slowly the group set in motion, some a few steps ahead, some lingering behind. Sasuke and Naruto kept to each other, as they did not know anyone else. But already on their way to the restaurant the woman approached Naruto.

“So you knew Jiraiya in person...,” she said. “I really envy you for this. I would have loved to meet him.”

“I was his student,” Naruto answered. 

“Did he give creative writing classes? You know, I am a great fan of Icha-Icha. What are you going to write?”

“He taught me ninja arts.”

“Oh.” The woman was silent, and Naruto enjoyed his small triumph.

“So you are from Konoha too, I guess.”

“We are.”

The woman didn't answer,but she remained at Naruto's side, apparently lost in thoughts, and when they arrived at the restaurant she invited Naruto to sit opposite her. Sasuke took the place next to Naruto.

“I should have guessed that you are from Konoha,” she said. “I should have been more sensitive.”

“It's okay.”

“I guess you grew up with what people in Konoha told you about Konoha's history,” she said. “I guess that people in Konoha teach the history of Konoha in a way that makes Konoha appear in a positive light, just as people here are still influenced by their memories of the Second Ninja World War which led to the destruction of Music Town, to its demilitarization and ultimately to its rise to the position of richest town on the continent. People remember their pain and their humiliation: for them, Konoha is the enemy, and they tell stories that make it appear in a negative light. The historical truth, however, is more complicated.”

“People haven't taught me much about the history of Konoha,” Naruto said. “That's why I enjoyed your lecture: I learnt a lot that I didn't know before. However, I am pretty certain that all the former Hokages longed for peace more than for anything else. Danzou is the only exception.”

“Well, everyone wants peace,” the woman said. “And we need to judge the Shodai Hokage and his successors according to the standards of their own time. The Shodai Hokage was born into a world where fighting was considered normal and a man's most honourable activity, and when it was taken for granted that people only cared for themselves. Protecting his people was what was expected from the head of a clan at the time, and coming to an agreement with the Uchiha was quite an achievement and also a digression from contemporary ideology that needs to be acknowledged. Attempting to enlarge his daimyou's territory when this seemed possible was considered an ordinary act of loyalty at the time, and refusing to do this an immoral neglect of duty. Senju Hashirama was certainly a competent Hokage, organizing the foundation of Konoha and establishing it as the most powerful of all the ninja villages, and you can be proud of him.”

Naruto was not certain whether he felt proud. 

“What about Minato?” he asked. “He truly worked for peace, didn't he?” 

“That was a different time. Everyone hoped for peace when the Third Ninja World War had ended. We should be careful condemning Danzou too: from his own point of view he does what's necessary to protect Konoha. It's just that his way of thinking has its origins in the time before the Second Ninja World War and hasn't changed much since then. Increasing Konoha's military power is the only way to ensure its safety he can conceive of.”

Naruto was still doubtful, and he distrusted the woman. “So Minato thought differently,” he said. 

“He understood that some minimal trust had to be established, and that secret assassinations and unilateral actions undermined this trust. Konoha had to become a reliable partner for peace treaties and needed to respect international law if it wanted to maintain its place in the ninja community. For this he needed to take action against Danzou, who had undermined that trust, and thus he disbanded Root.”

Sasuke touched Naruto's elbow. “He should have taken further measures,” he said. “Not just disbanding Root, but putting Danzou to trial and making public Root's activities. He would have spared us a lot of trouble.”

“I am not sure whether this would have been possible,” the woman said “Danzou had quite a lot of support in the population. Making public Root's crimes would not necessarily have led to its condemnation. It's far more likely that people would have turned against Minato putting a ninja of your own village to trial for crimes committed against ninja from other villages is unheard of, and even today few people would accept it. Even disbanding Root and explaining to people that its activities had undermined Konoha's safety was a courageous move. Maybe if he had lived longer, so that the population of Konoha had a chance to see that his approach to peace worked while Danzou's approach had caused a war and brought great suffering to them, Minato would have been able to further reduce Danzou's power. The kyuubi's attack came quite convenient to Danzou.”

Again Naruto shivered from the woman's cold rationality.

“I need to know more about Minato,” he said. “I need to know whether he truly worked for peace. It's important to me: I am Minato's son.”

“Are you? I did not know that he had any children.”

“My parentage needed to be hidden from everyone, or my life would have been in constant danger.”

“That makes sense,” the woman said. She leant back and looked at him. “Now I know where I've seen your picture. It's on the back cover of the Gutsy Ninja, and Danzou mentioned you in his last speech to the people of Konoha. So you're the kyuubi's jinchuuriki.”

“Yes.”

“He mentioned that you're staying in Music Town. I didn't expect you in my lecture, however.” She paused to think, then she continued: 

“So Minato was not only pressured into sacrificing himself, but also into sealing the kyuubi into his own child.”

“My father was not pressured into sacrificing himself. He did it voluntarily. He was the Hokage, so it was his duty to sacrifice himself.”

The woman shook her head. “There would have been ways to fight off the kyuubi without sacrificing himself. They might have been riskier for his people, but they did not include Minato's certain death. But people said that the kyuubi's attack was Minato's fault, as he had refused to create a new jinchuuriki, and that therefore it was his job to fight it. That traditionally the Hokage has to sacrifice himself when the village is in danger was just a secondary argument.”

Naruto looked at her, trying to rearrange his ideas. The woman looked back, musing. 

“The kyuubi's attack really came convenient to Danzou,” she said. “It did not only help him get rid of a powerful rival but it also allowed for a new jinchuuriki at a time when no family would have been ready to offer their own child, not even those who were in favour of having a new jichuuriki.”

“It couldn't be helped,” Naruto said. “It's the only way to contain the kyuubi.”

Again the woman shook her head. “You don't need to contain the kyuubi. You can fight it off. The problem is that then it may come back.” 

“So having a jinchuuriki is safer”

“Yes, at least on first sight. On the other hand even within a jinchuuriki the kyuubi may break loose at any time, and then it's already within the village and much more dangerous.”

“Not with me,” Naruto replied. “I am able to keep it in check.”

“I'm sorry,” the woman said. “I should have held in mind that the situation is different for the person who is directly affected. I hope you are successful in containing the kyuubi. Nonetheless there would have been other ways.”

“Maybe my father didn't know about them.”

“Maybe. We know little about the deliberations of Konoha's politicians at the time, or about the discussions they had among themselves, as documents in the archive of the Hokage Tower are made accessible to historians only after thirty years. What's certain, however, is that Danzou profited a lot from the kyuubi's attack.”


	124. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One: Role-Playing

For the first fifteen minutes Sasuke had followed the discussion between Naruto and the woman, then the guy next to him had engaged him in a conversation of their own, asking whether he was from Konoha too.

“I am. But contrary to Naruto I don't hold any illusions about Konoha's peacefulness. You can speak your mind when you talk to me.”

The man asked him for the reason for his resentment. At first Sasuke was careful and did not tell his family's story but answered in a rather vague and general manner, but soon he felt at ease in the company of people who hated Danzou as much as he did, and after drinking some wine he opened up and told people his true identity, and how he had found his parents lying dead on the floor, and how later he had learnt that his brother had been ordered by the Elders and Danzou to commit the murder. 

For the first time he did not meet the shocked silence of some twenty or thirty second that was the usual response to his story. People thought it perfectly expectable that Danzou was capable of such a crime, so there was nothing to be shocked about. Sasuke was first irritated, as he had come to expect the silence by now (and enjoyed it too), then he realized that what he got here was far better: For the first time there was no gap between him and other people.

He did not notice that news about his identity wandered along the table, so that he was surprised when the guy next to him told him to look to the end of the table and pointed out a man sitting there: “You should talk to him. He's writing his Ph.D. thesis about your clan.”

Sasuke looked up and saw that a man had been staring at him all the time. He felt annoyed, and he activated his Sharingan, just for a second, just to impress the man, then he asked the guy next to him what a Ph.D. thesis was. He did not understand the explanation completely, only that a it was some kind of scientific book. Sasuke did not feel comfortable with the idea of a stranger writing a book about him and his family, so he looked again to the end of the table and saw that the man was still staring at him. Now he invited him to take the seat opposite to him. Sasuke hesitated, then he decided that talking to the Ph.D. student was safer than ignoring him. The student followed him with his eyes as Sasuke went over to him, looking more and more excited.

“I'm very happy to meet you,” he said. “I did not know that the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan lived in Music Town. If I had been aware of you I would have approached you from my own accord. I would like to interview you for my thesis, if this is okay to you.”

Sasuke still felt weird. The man was busy writing a book on his family, and instead of acknowledging the impertinence of his endeavour he asked him for an interview – he wanted Sasuke's support for his project. Sasuke was on the point of flatly refusing it, then however he leant back and smiled. 

“That suits me well,” he said. “Because I need to talk to you too.”

They found a day and a time to meet, then the woman who had given the talk left, and most other people followed her. Sasuke sought Naruto's company again, and together they went home. For a while they walked in silence, then Naruto spoke up:

“My father was pressured to sacrifice himself, even though there might have been alternatives. He was also pressured to sacrifice me and turn me into a jinchuuriki, even though in this matter there might have been other ways too. He was pressured by the few people who knew about my existence.”

Sasuke considered it. He felt reminded of Itachi, who had also been pressured to sacrifice himself and his precious people, only that in the end he had at least refrained from sacrificing him, Sasuke.

“Maybe he just did not know about these alternatives,” he said. “Maybe people just did not tell him.”

He did not manage to dispel Naruto's doubts. Since he had learnt that his own father had sealed the kyuubi into him Naruto had told himself that he had only done this because he had sensed that he was strong enough to master the kyuubi, and to use its power to save the world. People in Music Town considered these ideas ridiculous, however, and Sasuke, who did his best to adopt Music Town's ways of thinking, considered them ridiculous too. Naruto found it more and more difficult to uphold his ideas about his father, about the kyuubi, and about his own role in the world.

“If I am not strong enough to control the kyuubi and use it to bring peace to the world, who am I then?” he asked. “Am I just a little child who had a monster sealed into him in order to turn him into a weapon? Am I a weapon?” 

“You're Naruto,” Sasuke replied. “You're not a weapon. You're a human being.”

He embraced Naruto and kissed him in the street, caressing his hair and his cheeks and in particular his whisker marks. Naruto returned the kisses, but absent-mindedly. Sasuke had not been able to restore his confidence.

The next day brought another surprise that even further cast Naruto into doubts about his identity: During lunch in the canteen of the police's head quarter a woman approached them, telling him that his official documents that would serve him as an ID had been lying on her table for quite some time now and that he should finally pick them up so that she could tidy her desk.

Naruto nodded, and when classes were over and their classmates went on patrol (he and Sasuke still weren't allowed to do this) he went to the woman's office. It happened that she was absent, but her colleague knew where to find Naruto's documents. He read them before he handed them out: 

“Uzumaki,” he said. “Are you sure you're from Konoha?” 

“Yes. Why?” 

“There's some Uzumakis living in one of the neighbour villages. Uzumakis' flutes & woodpipes is their firm's name, though they also produce oboes and clarinets. Have you never heard of them?” 

“No. I grew up in Konoha where people take little interest in Music.”

“Maybe they're some distant relatives.”

“I don't think so. I am from Konoha. I had not heard about Music Town before I came here.” 

The man shrugged, and when Naruto had signed the necessary papers he handed him his documents. “Have a nice stay in Music Town,” he said. “I hope you like it here.”

After leaving the office Naruto stood in the corridor for a while, wondering about the man's words. No one else in Konoha had been called Uzumaki, he remembered, not even his father. And no one had been called Namikaze either. 

Not being allowed to go on patrol did not mean that Sasuke and Naruto could go home in the afternoon. Their superiors had sent them to the different departments of the police on these occasions, making sure they got to know the diversity of police work in Music Town. This afternoon, however, they were ordered to one of the smaller martial arts dojos of the head quarter: “Special training so that you will be able to face Madara.” 

They wondered what kind of jutsu people in Music Town were able to teach them, but they were wise enough not to ask the question to the two people who were waiting for them: a policewoman in her forties, and a young man who was not even a policeman but a student of social pedagogics who was doing some practical work as part of his studies. 

“We are going to do some role-playing,” the woman told the boys. “Next time you meet Madara you must be prepared for it.”

The boys had heard about role-playing: It was a common training-method of the police, and they had been told that it was going to be employed when they were training for demonstrations. They had no idea what it might be, however.

“You've done quite well so far, all in all,” the woman continued. “However in the future you need to change your strategy. You need confidence that Madara can't tempt you, so that you no longer have to focus on rejecting his offers. Your new aim must be to extract information from Madara, and for this you must even pretend that you consider his offers without fear of giving in to them in the end. Now tell me about your last encounter with Madara!”

The boys looked at each other. “Madara offered Sasuke his brother's eyes,” Naruto said, and when he saw the shock in the two people's eyes he added: “It's an Uchiha thing. They transplant each other's eyes in order to enhance their power.”

The people were still in shock. “Doesn't your brother need his eyes for himself?” the woman asked.

“He's dead,” Sasuke replied. “Besides, I rejected the offer. I don't need the eyes.”

The woman swallowed. “Okay. You don't have to tell me any details now: instead show them to me!” 

The boys still had no idea.

“Naruto will be Madara!”

“What? Why me? Sasuke's an Uchiha, not me.”

Now the woman looked irritated, and annoyed. 

“Because Sasuke, is going to practise now. You'll be Madara and offer him his brother's eyes, and Sasuke will first show his original response, and then we'll all look for alternatives. Next time we'll address a situation where Madara was targeting you, then Sasuke will be Madara.”

“But I can't be Madara. I don't look like him. I don't feel like him. At least I need a mask and a black cloak with clouds on it.”

After a few seconds of thinking the woman nodded, much to Naruto's surprise. (He knew he was acting childishly.) She told the young social pedagogue to get some orange cardboard for the mask and a large piece of black cloth. 

“With the clouds you'll have to wait until tomorrow,” she said while the young man was cutting out the mask. “It will take some time to sew them on.”

“It's okay,” Naruto said, feeling a bit embarrassed for causing that much trouble. “It's just that I feel more like Madara with the cloak. It's like crossdressing: I feel more like a woman when I wear high heels.”

The policewoman looked at her shoes. “It's possible to feel like a woman without high heels,” she said.

The young man had now finished the mask and passed it to Naruto. He put it on.

“Now I'm Madara, head of Akatsuki, master of the bijuu.”

“Okay. Now you talk to Sasuke and offer him his brother's eyes.”

The young man had found something that served as a bench for Sasuke. Naruto approached him, straightening, doing his best to look fierce under his mask, and arranging the piece of cloth in the coolest way he could think of. 

“You don't need to turn blind,” he said. “There's still Itachi's eyes available for transplantation.”

They did not remember every word, but what they remembered was close enough not to get them into a discussion about different versions. Only when Naruto should have entered the conversation and could not do this because he was playing Madara they did not know what to do.

“It's okay,” the policewoman said. “You did well, but you refute Madara right at the beginning of the conversation to make him stop talking. It makes you look as if you were scared that he might make you change your mind. It would be okay if you were a civilian, and even as a policeman there's a lot of situations where it's appropriate to state the position of the law right at the beginning, and shut down any discussion. This, however, is something else. Your task is to make Madara talk, not to stop him from talking. So now you take some minutes and remind yourself that you really don't need whatever he offers you, and then we try that scene again.”

Sasuke nodded. He closed his eyes and told himself that he was not interested in Itachi's eyes but preferred to keep his own, and that he definitely did not care about the power a transplantation might give him. It would only set him apart from peple around him – he did not feel any temptation at all. Only getting more and more myopic to a point where glasses or contacts could not make up for it still worried him. He shoved away the thought – he could postpone the moment by being careful about using the Mangekyou, and even if contacts no longer weren't of any use there might be other ways to help him regain his sight in Music Town. 

He opened his eyes and saw that the others had been waiting for him in silence.

“So let's start again,” the woman said. 

Sasuke nodded, and Naruto again donned the black piece of cloth and the mask. 

“There's a way to avoid getting more and more myopic until you turn blind,” he said. “There's still Itachi's eyes.”

“Yes, I forgot about them. I should claim them. Itachi is my brother, after all. How is it going to work, by the way?” 

Naruto was at a loss: he had no idea about the ways the Uchiha's eyes functioned.

“Improvise!” the woman said. “Make up something! Imagine what you'd do if you were in Madara's situation.”

Naruto nodded and turned to Sasuke again: 

“We'll take you to my lair and there we'll do surgery.”

“Who'll perform it? You?”

“Zetsu. Oh, no, he's been captured.”

“Stop,” the woman said. Naruto took off his mask.

“You're far too sceptical,” she said. “You want the surgery, so you don't need to ask about details as if you might reconsider your decision. You ask where you have to go in order to make it happen. Also, don't forget that we need to know about Madara's allies, his ideas, his strategies. Details of the surgery are not relevant. And you, Naruto, make up something that's not obviously wrong!”

Naruto put on the mask again, and they tried a new version.

“You offer surgery?” Sasuke said. “So do you have some other hide-out with a hospital wing and medical staff for surgery and aftercare?”

“We've got a medical team at our head quarter,” Naruto replied. “Small, but elite. The best med nin from the ninja countries.”

“How did you convince them to join you? Did you promise them some bijuu too?” 

“Stop,” the woman interrupted the play again. “You're provoking him! That's not what you do in order to extract information...”


	125. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Two: Victim, not Perpetrator

Going home Naruto was in a better mood than he had been for a long time. Playing Madara had been fun, and getting Sasuke into situations where he did not know what to reply had been a challenge he enjoyed.

Sasuke was more serious. For him, the training session had been more realistic and less like a game, and a few times Naruto had managed to find sore spots of his soul, mostly by talking of Itachi. 

“He would have wanted you to take his eyes,” Naruto had said. “He would have wanted you to claim the full power of the Uchiha clan, and restore its reputation in the ninja world. He would not have made sure that you got the Mangekyou if he had not intended you to take his eyes too.”

By now Sasuke was confident that his parents would have approved of the path he had chosen for himself, but he had never considered Itachi and his intentions. Maybe he would really have wanted him to take his eyes. Maybe he should accept Madara's offer. 

So this had been the worst moment for Sasuke, but there had been other, better moments too, moments when he had managed to find questions Madara aka Naruto could not find a reply to. Both of them had had a lot of fun, and a few times the policewoman had told them off, explaining to them that this was not a game but an attempt to teach them interrogation techniques, and that they should take them seriously.

The young social pedagogue had reminded her, however, that both boys had been threatened and intimidated by Madara so that they needed to ridicule him in order to overcome their fear. After this the woman had become more indulgent, even smiling when Naruto came up with a remarkably absurd reply. 

People here really had their own techniques of dealing with evil, Sasuke thought. They fought, but they fought with words, and they used ninja tricks: not attacking, but making use of their opponents' attacks, exploiting his mistakes and using his own power against him. He was determined to learn this, and he was quite confident that he had made some progress during this training session.

The next morning it was his turn to play Madara, while Naruto played himself. Wearing the black cloak, which by now had sleeves, a collar and red clouds, brought back memories of his fight against Killerbee, memories he was not proud of, but when he had put on the orange mask he felt like Madara too. He took it off again.

“Wait a moment. I need to think of a strategy,” he said. 

“Take your time,” the policewoman replied.

Naruto sat down on the bench, anxiously watching Sasuke, who had hidden behind the mask again, so that Naruto had no idea what he was thinking. Then Sasuke approached him.

“Follow me!” he said. “I'll extract the kyuubi without killing you, so that you no longer have to worry about it. I'll make you master of all the bijuu, and kage of the whole ninja world. United they'll follow your orders, and stop fighting each other.”

Naruto did not have any answer to this, and the policewoman and the social pedagogue were silent too.

“Is that your desire?” the social worker asked. “Being kage of the whole ninja world?” 

Naruto could tell that neither he nor the policewoman approved of this desire. 

“You also want to be kage of Music Town?” the woman asked. “You know, we are part of the ninja world too. We like to be our own masters, however.”

“Being Hokage of Konoha is enough for me,” Naruto answered. “That's what my father was, and that's what I dream of too.”

From their expressions Naruto could tell that they did not consider this much better than the desire to be kage of all the ninja countries.

“It's not about power,” he explained. “It's about serving my people, and being the first to put his life on the line when the village is in danger.”

The two people still didn't seem to approve. “Let's continue your training,” the woman finally said. 

After training, and after finding Sasuke's horse, it was time for their third appointment with the social worker. (It was their lunch break then.) The social worker was pleased to meet them and brought coffee for Sasuke and coke for Naruto.

“So what is it you want to talk about today?” he asked. “How's your training at the police? Everything all right?”

“Training goes well,” Sasuke answered, forgetting to mention that they weren't allowed to go on patrol these days. “I want to talk to you about something else.”

The social worker looked at him expectantly. 

“I've thought a lot about what you told us the first time we met: about not prosecuting me for trying to kill Naruto when we were both twelve years old, because I was too young at the time to be held accountable for what I did, and too young to understand what I was doing.”

“Well, yes,” the social worker said, still waiting for Sasuke's thoughts.

“At the time I considered myself strong and grown up, fully able to look after myself, and to decide for myself. Looking back now I think I was a small child indeed, raised in ignorance and loneliness and burning with pain.”

He paused again. 

“But in the end I refrained from killing Naruto, even though I was only twelve. In the end I refused to follow my brother's advice. I did not want to be his puppet, and I did not want to be like him.”

“Your brother? What's your brother got to do with it?”

“It was him who murdered our family, and before that he murdered his best friend in order to acquire the Mangekyou Sharingan that gave him unimaginable power. He told me that in order to kill him and avenge my family I needed the Mangekyou too, and that I also needed to kill my best friend. But in the end I didn't do it.”

The shock in the social worker's eyes was still visible. Sasuke had not expected it. He had already told the man that his family had been murdered, and there had already been the silence of a few seconds that usually followed this announcement, so why was he shocked again?

“Did you like your brother?” the man asked.

“I did. But then I hated him.”

“That's understandable.”

“I wanted to kill him. It was my sole desire.”

“That's understandable too. Was he arrested and put to trial?”

“No. They let him go. The authorities of Konoha had ordered him to commit the murder after all. And I no longer hate him. I rather pity him now.”

“You don't have to. Being ordered is no excuse for murder. A man should be able to tell right from wrong, and refuse to obey to an order that's obviously wrong.”

“My brother wasn't a man. He was still a child of thirteen.”

The social worker looked shocked again. 

“That's something else.”

“So this is what I want to ask you: Would you have spared him too from being put to trial, and from being punished?” 

“Yes, definitely.”

Sasuke had hoped for that answer, still the quickness of its deliverance made him wonder. The social worker misinterpreted his silence: 

“How old were you at the time?” 

“Seven.”

“I guess it's difficult for you to accept that your brother would have gone out free.”

“It would have been difficult at the time. Now I no longer consider my brother the real culprit, so I don't think that he should have been punished, and I regret that I ever wanted to kill him. - So what would you have done? You would not have pretended that nothing had happened, would you? You do punish thirteen-year-olds, don't you, we have seen it happen at the project we work at on Friday afternoons. When children misbehave they are excluded for several weeks.”

“That's something else,” the social worker said. “That's not murder. I mean, it's normal that thirteen-year-olds sometimes do things they are not supposed to do, and then they get punished in the way you described, but it's not normal that thirteen-year-olds murder their families. With this you have to deal in a different way.” 

“So what would you have done?” 

“We would have inquired about what had gone wrong that your brother committed such a crime, and then we would have put him into some fosterhome. Maybe we would have found him fosterparents.”

“And what would you have done about me?” 

“We would have found fosterparents for you too. Maybe it gives you some satisfaction to hear that it is far easier to find fosterparents for a cute seven-year-old than for a teenager who just murdered his entire family.”

Sasuke didn't care about satisfaction. His feelings were in confusion, and he would not have been able to describe them.

“So having to live in an orphanage would have been the only form of punishment for my brother, if he had committed such a crime in Music Town,” he said.

“Rather the natural consequence of his crime than some form of punishment,” the social worker said. “We do our best that kids have a decent life our orphanages, though living with your parents, or fosterparents, is normally much better of course. Our aim is to prevent the kids from committing more crimes, and to set them on a good path for the future.”

Sasuke considered it. It was what he and Naruto did on Friday afternoons. But these kids, though they were rather difficult, had not murdered anyone.

“In Konoha my brother would have been judged as an adult, if they had cared to put him to trial at all. But they themselves had ordered the murder, and so they had to let him go free.”

“Yes. I'm still in shock about this. Do you have any idea why they didn't give the order to some grown-up man?” 

“My brother was stronger than most other ninja, and the only person strong enough to commit the crime. Also, according to our laws, he was a grow-up man, just as everyone who has passed the academy exam and been accepted as a genin.”

The social worker looked blank, and Sasuke could not tell what he was thinking. He wished he could use his Sharingan to read the man's thoughts, but it was not possible.

“I forgot that you're all raised as fighters and made soldiers at a very young age, and that this was done to your brother too. It's considered a crime in all the rest of the world, a way of turning children into killing-machines instead of teaching them how to be human beings. It's much more convenient than employing grown-ups: Children are more obedient, they don't insist on adequate payment, they are more easily intimidated or manipulated, and it's easier to brutalize them than a grown-up person with a well-established system of moral beliefs who might resist and refuse an immoral order, if necessary at the price of their life. Children are not yet able to see through their commanders' manipulations, and they rarely have the courage to resist.”

“Still my brother might have resisted when he was told to murder our parents. Every child knows that this is wrong.”

“Most children can be forced to kill their parents or their friends. They'll do it when they feel that otherwise they themselves will get killed. It's a perfect way to turn them into killing-machines who only respect power and superior strength, killing-machines who'll obey you as long as you're stronger than them, and who feel entitled to do everything they want when they themselves are stronger than their victims.”

Sasuke was silent. He sensed that Itachi's story didn't fit the man's description, as nobody had told him that killing his family was the only way to save his own life. On the contrary: From the beginning it had been clear that being a refugee and a spy at Akatsuki, and then dying an early death was part of the plan. He sought for words to explain this to the social worker, but the man had already continued his speech: 

“Your brother was not responsible for his actions. He was thirteen. Those who gave the order and turned him into a murderer are responsible.”

 

Sasuke didn't answer. Even though the man confirmed what he had tried to convince himself of since he had first heard that Itachi had been ordered to murder the clan he still was irritated by the absoluteness of the man's convictions.

“My brother was not a child. He was grown-up according to the laws of Konoha.”

“He was thirteen. Thirteen-year-olds in Konoha are not more mature than thirteen-year-olds in other parts of the world. They need parents who care for them, they need friends, they need capable teachers, and lots of opportunities to do stupid things without catastrophic consequences. Learning to fight does not make you grow up more quickly.”

Not only Sasuke, but also Naruto felt hurt. They had always considered themselves more mature than people of their own age in Music Town.

“Your brother was not a perpetrator. He fell victim to a horrible crime. In all the countries of the world beyond the ninja countries he would not have been put to trial but been treated kindly. People would do their best to help him leave behind his identity as a child soldier and teach him values that enable him to return to an ordinary, civilized life among ordinary civilized people.”

“How?” Sasuke asked.

“We're still studying their methods, and apparently they themselves are still busy doing research and finding out what works best. It seems they think that there's demons within a child soldier, both from the crimes he committed and from the crimes he fell victim to, and they have rituals to drive the demons our of them, so that they can return to their people. Mostly, however, they treat these kids with care and support to teach them by example how ordinary, civilized people treat each other, and this seems to work.”

Sasuke considered the man's words. He felt uncomfortable with the idea of Itachi being nothing more than an abused child.

“My brother was not a killing-machine,” he said. “He still made his own choices. He decided that I should be spared, for example.”

“That's great and admirable in his situation. Certainly it would have been something to build on if he had survived so that he could have been brought back to an ordinary life.”

Again there was silence. Finally Sasuke took Naruto's hand: “I need to think about all this. We'll contact you again if we have more questions.”

“Do so!” the social worker replied. “It's been a pleasure to talk to you.”


	126. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three: Just Talking

When the door had closed behind them and Sasuke and Naruto were standing outside the social worker's office, they both took a deep breath. 

Sasuke had found the man's words deeply disturbing. Even though on the surface they had been about Itachi he knew that they were about him and Naruto too, and in fact about all children in all the ninja countries.

“So that's how people in Music Town see us,” he said. “They consider us monsters, highly-trained killing-machines, and they try to turn us back into human beings by treating us as human beings.”

He laid his arm around Naruto's shoulders, and to his shock he felt that Naruto was all stiff and tense, unable to respond. He drew him closer to himself.

“For you it's a joke, but for me it isn't,” Naruto said after a few minutes had passed. “I'm really a monster.”

Sasuke shrugged and turned around to embrace him. 

“I don't care. I'm your fellow monster then.”

He tried to kiss Naruto, but Naruto didn't return the kiss.

“It's not the same. I really have a monster within me. They sealed it into me in order to turn me into a weapon. They kept me from all human contact in order to prevent me from realizing that I'm human too.”

“You are human,” Sasuke said. “Everyone here perceives you as human.”

“The kyuubi's still inside me, even if people in Music Town choose to ignore it. I do my best to be friendly to everyone and to help people and not be a force of destruction, but the kyuubi remains all the same.”

“We'll manage,” Sasuke said. “Together we'll tame it. We'll ask Killerbee to continue our training.”

He sensed that his words did not give any comfort to Naruto, he was not even sure if Naruto had heard them. He had no idea what to say, and not knowing what to do he drew Naruto closer to himself and slowly steered him to the place where Juugo's fostermothers lived, hoping that they might find words of consolation. Naruto did not offer any resistance but just followed him.

The policewomen who were watching over them noticed that they did not take the way back to the training center. They approached the boys, and when Sasuke explained that Naruto was not feeling well they nodded understandingly.

“Sasuke's ill, not me,” Naruto protested. 

The women looked from one to the other. 

“You both look as if you need some rest,” they said. “Are you going home now?”

“We'll visit some friends. They're our legal guardians too.”

“Don't they work at this time of the day?”

Sasuke shrugged. The problem had not occured to him. 

“If they are not at home we'll find some other place for you to go to,” the policewomen said. 

It turned out that they were lucky: Both Juugo's fostermothers were at home. They often went home to have lunch with their kids. They asked the boys to come in, and when they had taken seats in their living-room they asked them what had happened.

“Naruto's not feeling well,” Sasuke answered again. 

“I'm not ill,” Naruto said. “It's just that Sasuke insisted on talking again to that social worker to discuss his brother's crimes, and the social worker explained to him that people like us who've been trained as fighters from their early childhood are considered monsters and killing-machines here.”

“That's not true! We regard you as friendly likeable young men and treat you as such.”

“But we're monsters nonetheless! Trained to fight and kill! That's what people here truly think.”

“It's not what we think! We think that you're much more than this, and now that you live in Music Town you can show what's in you beyond fighting and killing.”

Sasuke heard the panic in the woman's voice, and it resonated with his own panic. Their words did not reach Naruto either.

“That's what people always told me. They pretended to treat me as an ordinary human being, but when push came to shove they were all afraid of the kyuubi and reminded me of the necessity of controlling it.” 

“But you do subdue it, don't you? You don't need to be reminded of it.”

“I'm subduing it all the time,” Naruto replied. “I subdue it when I talk, when I dance, when I listen to our teachers at the training center, when I practise the guitar or when we make love. It's always with me, and I'm always busy keeping it down.”

The women did not answer. Sasuke recognized the silence – the silence that followed when people in Music Town realized that they were confronted with suffering beyond their imagination. The silence that was the only adequate response to the gap that separated him and Naruto from people in Music Town. At the moment there was a gap between him and Naruto too – he had no idea what it meant to live with a demon inside oneself. He laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder: Naruto did not respond to it, but neither did he shake it off.

“I was never meant to live as an ordinary human being,” Naruto said. “The kyuubi was sealed into me a few hours after I was born, with the intention of turning me into the village's ultimate weapon. My father was pressured into doing it himself, and then he was pressured into sacrificing himself. I was meant to grow up without family or friends, knowing nothing but fear and hatred, anger and loneliness. I was meant to know nothing about bonds, or good and evil, so that people could give me orders at their liberty, and I had no ground to stand on and disobey them. A perfect weapon.” 

“But it didn't work out, did it? You have friends both here and in Konoha, and you're in love with Sasuke.”

“Still it's with me all the time. I try to hide it, and to pretend it doesn't exist, but it's there. It's always there.”

Sasuke caressed his shoulder and kissed the other shoulder.

“Is it okay if I have a look with the Sharingan?” he asked. “Just to see the kyuubi's chakra.”

“It's okay,” Naruto replied, too exhausted from his outbreak to say no.

It was not much, just a thin layer of chakra surrounding Naruto's body. Sasuke had hoped that at the end of their last training session with Killerbee he had managed to push it all back, but as Naruto had told him it had not worked a hundred percent.

“It's grown worse since we last trained with Killerbee, hasn't it?” he said. 

“It's grown worse since we became lovers,” Naruto replied. “It's not possible to remain controlled all the time when you have sex. It's not possible to pretend.”

Sasuke looked sad, or rather very serious.

“I don't regret anything,” Naruto continued. “I would not miss anything of what we did together... I would not want ot move back in time to the moment before we became lovers.”

Sasuke smiled again. Naruto caressed his neck and his hair, he sought Sasuke's mouth with his own, they kissed for several minutes, and while they kissed it happened that Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes, forgetting that his Sharingan was still activated.

They found themselves in front of the kyuubi's cage. For a while they kept kissing, then Sasuke dissolved the embrace to look at the kyuubi: It was hidden behind its cage's bars, and when Sasuke looked into its eyes he suddenly felt the strange fearlessness of the people of Music Town he had always wondered about: he was without fear, not because he was stronger than his opponent, but because there was nothing to be afraid of. He would not even need his Sharingan, except to stay within Naruto's mind. 

He went forward, and when he reached the cage he removed the seal, opened the door and went inside.

Naruto held his breath. He expected the kyuubi to attack Sasuke, and then to try to escape through the open door and take over, but instead the kyuubi retreated. 

Sasuke went forward, not even raising his hand's. Instead he opened his palms in a gesture that offered peace.

“You don't need to be afraid of me,” he said. 

He stopped when the kyuubi had arrived at the back wall of its cage. He did not want to literally drive it into a tight corner, and risk an attack just because it felt threatened. 

“I don't want to fight you,” he said. “I just want to talk.”

The kyuubi didn't reply. 

“Don't you want to come outside?” Sasuke continued. “There's people out there, friends. You should talk to Naruto too.”

“You offer me freedom,” the kyuubi replied. “But only freedom within the limits of what you think appropriate.” 

“Ah, yes, you can't go on a rampage of course. People would be killed, and their houses would be destroyed.”

The kyuubi did not answer. 

“It's my nature. It's Naruto's nature.”

“It's not Naruto's nature. He wants peace, and he does not want anyone to get hurt.”

“It's the same with him as with me: you only grant him freedom within the limits of what you think appropriate. He accepts this, and subdues his true desires.”

“His true desires are peace and being with the people he loves.”

“Peace with people who hate him.”

“They don't hate him. I don't hate him. People in Music Town don't hate him.”

“People in Konoha do. They hate him – they hate me.”

“This is Music Town, not Konoha. They don't hate you. I don't hate you.”

Actually Sasuke felt increasingly annoyed, but annoyance was not the same as hatred. He even felt pity for the kyuubi.

“Now come on. Naruto is waiting for you, he's standing outside. You don't need to overwhelm and control him – you need to follow him, and allow him to introduce you to his friends.”

“Friends who don't want to get to know me.”

“They will. They're from Music Town, after all, not from Konoha. I want to get to know you.”

He reached out with his open hand, touching not the kyuubi's nose, which was as big as his head, but the soft fur above it, and then the fur beneath the kyuubi's snout, and then its throat... It was a fox, after all, not very different from a dog.

“Now come on,” he said again. “Naruto is waiting outside.”


	127. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four: Trusting again

His hands on its giant cheek, Sasuke led the kyuubi outside. Naruto had watched and listened to Sasuke's conversation with it, first holding his breath, then simply wondering, and also feeling a bit jealous that Sasuke had succeeded where he himself had failed. He was anxious when the kyuubi left the cage, but Sasuke was smiling and looked confident, and so Naruto felt confident too. Following Sasuke's example he caressed the kyuubi's chest and snout, and the spot behind its ears, when the kyuubi rested its head on the ground. 

“I don't need your power,” he said. “But I need you as my friend.”

He snuggled against the kyuubi's muscular neck, and it appeared to him that the kyuubi snuggled against him too.

“It's as I told you: Sasuke wants to be your friend,” he said. “Killerbee will be your friend too. People here in Music Town will also be your friends. They don't believe in monsters here.”

He caressed the fur between the kyuubi's eyes. 

“There's no need to go on a rampage.”

Sasuke finally deactivated his Sharingan and returned to the living-room where he and Naruto had lunch with Juugo's fostermothers. He still held Naruto in his arms, and Naruto's head was resting against his chest. He caressed Naruto's hair: He would need some time to talk to the kyuubi on his own, and make up with him. For a moment he reactivated his Sharingan, and saw that Naruto was still surrounded by the kyuubi's chakra, but that it was only a thin layer now. It would remain like this, he thought: there was no way to get rid of the kyuubi. It was a fate that had been imposed on Naruto without asking him, and they had to make the best of it, just as they had to make the best of the fate Itachi had imposed on himself when he had enforced the Mangekyou Sharingan on him.

He'd stay with Naruto. He'd continue to love him, and to love the kyuubi too, which had become part of Naruto. 

Slowly Naruto returned to the living-room too. He had left the kyuubi sleeping in front of its cage, which had lost its function now. He'd return to it, talk to it, make friends. Maybe with time he'd be able to use his chakra, though not having to fight in Music Town he did not know what he might use it for. He was no longer afraid of being taken over by the kyuubi, and he was glad that it no longer considered Sasuke an enemy or an obstacle on its road to power.

“You look shaken,” one of Juugo's forstermothers said. “You want to take some rest?” 

Naruto lifted his head. Admitting that some rest might do him well did not come easy to him, but when Sasuke declared that they both needed to withdraw it was okay to him. Juugo's fostermothers put sheets on the bed in the guest room, then they left the boys to themselves. 

Sasuke drew Naruto into a tight embrace as soon as the door had closed. His hands wandered all over Naruto's back and over his ass, they tousled Naruto's hair. Naruto laid his cheek against Sasuke's.

“You remember when we first met Killerbee's girl-friend?” Sasuke said. “I told you that one day we'd have that too.”

Naruto nodded, as well as this was possible with his cheek against Sasuke's. 

“It was still too risky. If things had gone wrong you would have had to use that Mangekyou again and worsen your eyesight.”

“It was not risky. The kyuubi is not evil after all. It just didn't know that not everyone is like people in Konoha who've always fought him or used him for their ends.”

His hands moved under Naruto's shirt – he needed to touch his naked skin. He made him take off the shirt, and sit down on the bed, he caressed Naruto's chest and belly. He was no longer able to think: he wanted to be near Naruto, to touch all his skin, and to kiss him too. He rested his head against Naruto's belly, where the seal was gone.

“I'm not pregnant with the kyuubi,” Naruto said, playing with Sasuke's hair. 

Sasuke looked up: “Where's its chakra now?” 

“Still within me.”

Sasuke looked at the belly again, and caressed the line of hair that connected the navel with the pubic hair. “May I have a look?”

Naruto nodded, knowing what Sasuke spoke of. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and saw that most of the chakra was still in Naruto's belly and that the kyuubi was sleeping in the great hall where he used to be kept as a prisoner, but that some of its chakra was leaking out. He saw it in Naruto's chest and in his arm, and he caressed the trails of it, then he deactivated his Sharingan because he wanted to touch Naruto and see him without thinking of the kyuubi. He still looked a bit shaken, and very serious and a bit transparent, and also, in Sasuke's eyes, extremely beautiful. He caressed Naruto's cheeks (the whisker marks had not vanished), and his ears. 

“Take off your shirt,” Naruto said. “I mean, there's no reason why I should be half naked when you aren't.” 

Sasuke obliged, and Naruto caressed his chest, his nipples and his cheeks, and then he lay down on his back, taking Sasuke with him so that he came to lie upon himself, thigh upon thigh, belly upon belly, supporting all his weight. Skin touched skin, Naruto drew Sasuke's face to himself and kissed him, and then they rested their cheeks against each other's, Naruto caressing Sasuke's back.

We're close again, he thought. Whatever Sasuke had done in the past, there was no doubt that he was basically a good person. Naruto trusted him again: he trusted him as he had never trusted him before, not when they had just become lovers, not when they had become friends as small kids. At the moment however he felt that mostly Sasuke trusted him, entrusting his weight to him, letting himself be supported by Naruto, his head resting against Naruto's shoulder. He was getting heavy, however, and very gently Naruto rolled over and shook him off. 

Sasuke snuggled against him, caressing Naruto's chest and his belly. He was extremely content with himself. 

“I'll protect you,” he said. “I wasn't able to protect Itachi as I was just a small child at the time, not much different from children in Music Town. But now I can protect you against anyone who tells you rubbish, or who tries to persuade you to sacrifice yourself in the name of peace.”

Naruto was not content with that, and also with Sasuke's head resting on his shoulder he thought that it was obvious that he was protecting Sasuke, not the other way round. 

For a while they lay like this, Sasuke caressing Naruto's body or what of it was naked, then he grew bolder and more active again, opening the button of Naruto's pants and the zipper and moving his hand under the fabric of his boxers. As he had expected Naruto was half aroused already. Sasuke sat up, supporting himself on one hand, with the other he caressed Naruto's cock. He thought that Naruto would take this as a sign to undress completely, but instead Naruto tugged at the seam of his, Sasuke's pants. 

Sasuke took them off and sat down naked next to Naruto, one hand caressing his cheeks, the other caressing his belly. 

Naruto sat up too, to caress the inner side of Sasuke's thighs, and then his genitals. 

“I always thought you beautiful, and when I saw you fully naked for the first time I thought that you were beautiful there too.”

Sasuke blushed: Naruto had never been that direct.

“Your beauty is of a different kind,” he said. “It's in the eyes.”

He caressed Naruto's face, then he kissed him. Naruto wondered what to make of the compliment, but as Sasuke was again touching his body all over it had to mean that he liked touching him, and looking at him. Sasuke pulled again at Naruto's pants, and this time Naruto lifted his hips and let Sasuke undress him.

Sasuke began to caress his thighs and hips now too, letting his hands move slowly upward along Naruto's thighs, then gently playing with his balls and caressing the patch of skin between balls and thighs. He kissed Naruto again and tousled his hair, he tried to read in his eyes (without activating the Sharingan of course), but all he saw was trust and enjoyment. 

Naruto caressed Sasuke's hair too, then he took his hand and moved it downward again, and also he pushed Sasuke's head downwards.

“Go on!” he said. 

Sasuke changed position, taking his place between Naruto's legs. He caressed his calves and thighs, he kissed Naruto's navel and then again his mouth. He opened Naruto's thighs in order to be able to place his head between them and to put his tongue into the deep folds. Naruto responded by opening his thighs even wider and then putting his feet on Sasuke's shoulders. 

Sasuke wondered. He sat up to look into Naruto's face, but Naruto was just smiling, and then he moved Sasuke's hand to his anus. Sasuke began to caress, then to kiss him there: he had read about this in books and had found it disgusting, but now it seemed just the natural thing to do. Nothing about Naruto was disgusting... He looked up at him and saw that he was smiling and enjoying what Sasuke was doing. 

After a while he pulled Sasuke up to him and kissed him. “Do you think they have anything we may use as lube?” he asked. 

It took Sasuke some seconds to understand the meaning of the question, and some more seconds to come up with a reply: “I'll ask them.”


	128. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five: Acting Irresponsibly

Sasuke got up and put on his clothes. Naruto remained naked, watching him while he dressed. Sasuke pulled the blanket over him before he left, kissing him and caressing his chest again. He felt very protective, and he thought that Naruto looked as if he needed being protected: a bit like a child, a bit exhausted, and both vulnerable and full of trust. 

He went to the bathroom and had a look: as it was a women's bathroom there were a lot of cremes and lotions on the board above the sink. (Actually in their own bathroom at home there were also a lot of cremes and lotions, most of them his own.) As expected there wasn't any lube, so he had a look at the other stuff, trying to determine whether it might serve as lube, but he was realistic enough to know that he could not take any of it without asking. He felt awkward about this, and much less confident than when he had told Naruto that he was taking care of the lube problem, but summoning all his courage he went downstairs, and when he met one of the women in the corridor he asked her whether she and her partner might have something that might be used as lube.

The woman looked startled, making Sasuke feel even more anxious and embarrassed. His impression had been that the women accepted that Naruto and he were having sex with each other, but maybe he had been mistaken. 

“That's not what we meant when we told you to take a rest,” the woman said. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” 

“We know what we're doing,” Sasuke replied.

“Naruto really looked as if he was not himself. You should give him some time to recover.”

“Don't worry. I'll be the active partner. Naruto will just have to relax and enjoy.”

Now the woman looked a bit disturbed. “You don't need to tell me more details,” she said.

“So do you have something we may use as lube?” 

The woman shrugged. “I am not certain what qualifies some substance as a substitute for lube.”

“Don't worry – we are experienced by now in finding some replacement when we run out of regular lube. We know what works and what doesn't.”

“As I said: I don't need any details,” the woman again told Sasuke. “So let's go upstairs.”

She opened the various bottles and tubes and pots and put some of the content on Sasuke's hand so that he could test its consistency. 

“We don't have any condoms, however,” she said. “We can send one of our boys to the drugstore, of course, but I fear they'll refuse to do this as it's too embarrassing for them.”

“Oh, it's not necessary. We don't need them,” Sasuke replied. 

He had thought that the woman had been shocked when he had asked for something that might serve as lube, but now he learnt how she looked when she was really shocked. Luckily just now Naruto arrived in the bathroom. 

“Why are you taking so long?” he asked. “Have you found something?” 

“I'm still testing stuff to see what's best.”

He took Naruto's hand and held it out to the woman so that she could pour some oil on it too.

“You are certain you want this?” she asked Naruto. “You looked quite shaken only half an hour ago. Don't you think it's better just to sleep and take some rest?” 

“No.” In fact Naruto looked still a bit sleepy, having just left the bed. “We know what we need most now.”

“But you should use condoms,” the woman insisted.

“We don't need them. We won't get pregnant.”

“You should still use them. They are also a protection against sexually transmitted diseases.” 

“We have never had any sex with any other men,” Naruto said. “And by now we should have exchanged whatever diseases we suffer from.”

“Still it's irresponsible. You don't know you where you might have contracted something.”

“We don't want them,” Naruto said. “They're weird.” 

The second woman had now noticed that something was going on in the bathroom, and she went upstairs to see what it was all about. 

“I try to explain to them that they should use condoms,” her partner said. 

“Why? Don't you use them already?”

“No. We don't need them.”

“That's irresponsible. You should not have sex without them. You may contract a variety of diseases. You don't want that, do you?”

“We haven't contracted anything so far.”

“That doesn't mean that you won't contract something in the future.”

“I don't have time to go to the drugstore myself,” the first woman again told her partner. “But I thought that maybe we can send one of our boys. They're a bit too young though. They'll attract funny looks.”

“We can send Juugo. He looks older.”

“Is he at home?”

“I will have a look.”

“If he's not here you'll have to wait,” the first woman told Sasuke and Naruto. “Now let's see whether we find something you might use as lube.”

Feeling a bit dumb Sasuke and Naruto obeyed and eventually they found something: some massage oil that smelled as if you might use it against a cold, but it felt right.

The second woman returned upstairs with Juugo in tow. Her partner explained him the situation: “We need you to go to the drugstore and buy some condoms. Naruto doesn't feel well, so they can't go themselves, but Naruto thinks he's fit enough to have sex.”

“We don't need these condoms. You don't have to go to the drugstore.”

“It's all okay,” Juugo replied. “I have some here. You can have them.”

The women had been shocked when they had heard that Sasuke and Naruto were having sex without condoms, but they were even more shocked to hear that Juugo had a supply of condoms. He went downstairs to get some, and returned again and put them into Naruto's hands before the two mothers could say anything. Naruto too was too stupefied to refuse the condoms. 

“Why do you have a supply of condoms?” one of the women asked. “What do you need them for?” 

“For the same thing as everyone else.”

Again the women were not able to answer. Juugo turned to Sasuke and Naruto. “Do you know how to use them, or do you need some help?”

“You're too young for this,” one of the women finally said. “You may have grown in height, but this does not mean that you are ready for sex on an emotional level, even if your body is able to perform the act.”

“Let's discuss this downstairs,” the second woman suggested, and all three of them went down to the living-room.

Sasuke and Naruto were finally on their own. They went back to the guestroom, and sat down on the bed. Naruto passed the condoms to Sasuke: “You want to use them?” 

“Do you want me to use them?” 

“We never needed them, did we?” 

It was settled. Sasuke laid the condoms on the bedside table, and Naruto undressed unceremoniously, and not seductively at all. His idea was that they would take up where they had interrupted their love-making, even though the interruption had been longer than expected: his approach to sex had always been rather pragmatic, and Sasuke liked this: He was in love with Naruto, so he wanted Naruto to behave like himself during their love-making too. He didn't need any refinement: Seeing Naruto's naked body, and his face with the broad smile, was enough to arouse him. He bent over Naruto to kiss him and caress his chest.

Naruto broke off the kiss after a few seconds. “I want to see you naked too,” he said. 

Sasuke obeyed. He felt nervous suddenly, even though they had seen each other naked quite often by now. Naruto's hands were on his body again, touching his shoulderblades and his ass, making him feel loved and welcome. Naruto slung one of this legs around him, inducing Sasuke to take position between his legs, and for a while they simply lay like this, enjoying the feel of each other's skin and the warmth between their bodies, then they kissed and got aroused and also relaxed, which was mostly important for Naruto, who was nervous too. Relaxing under Sasuke's weight made him feel that anal sex might be possible, and having Sasuke's tongue in his mouth and enjoying it made him feel that having Sasuke's cock in his ass might be enjoyable too. It would be Sasuke, after all, Sasuke whom he loved and whom he admired, Sasuke whom he would open to and give himself to. He longed for it suddenly, and he moved Sasuke's hand down between his legs again. 

Sasuke, supporting himself on his other hand, began to caress the ring of muscles, and Naruto was surprised to discover the sensitivity of this part of his body, and the intensity of his emotions from Sasuke's caresses. Sasuke took the bottle of massage oil from the bedside table: he felt a bit insecure as when he had been the passive partner they had always made a point of him being the one who passed the lube to Naruto – but then Naruto had given him enough signs, hadn't he? He looked into Naruto's eyes and saw that he was smiling, so apparently it was all okay. He warmed the oil between his hands and distributed it around the anus, and then, taking an extra large amount, he very gently inserted a finger. Naruto made it easy for him by spreading his legs and then putting his feet on Sasuke's shoulders, and Sasuke could go a bit deeper. With his other hand he caressed Naruto's belly, and the inner side of his thighs. He made sure to look into Naruto's face to see whether he was smiling, but he was, and Sasuke began to search for his prostrate. When he found it Naruto changed expression, opening his mouth, breathing heavily. 

“Everything okay?” Sasuke asked.

“Yeah, go on.”

Silently Sasuke called himself a fool. He continued caressing Naruto from inside: he himself felt barely aroused at the moment, gaining pleasure mostly from watching Naruto's pleasure, his trust, his enjoyment. A bit he looked like a child, but there was also the seriousness in his face Sasuke saw in him when he dreamt of peace. It was not what Sasuke had imagined being the active partner would be like, but he would not have exchanged it for anything.

At some point Naruto pulled him out again, and then took him by the shoulders and made him lie upon himself again. He covered Sasuke's face with kisses. Sasuke felt insecure, not knowing why Naruto had stopped him, but apparently he was not angry or annoyed. 

“You liked it?” he asked when he had a chance.

Naruto nodded. 

Sasuke still felt irritated: he knew that Naruto had stopped him before he had had an orgasms.

“It's the kyuubi, isn't it? You still don't want to take risks.”

Naruto again shook his head. He felt annoyed that Sasuke spoilt the moment by asking stupid questions, but he felt too happy and peaceful to be angry at him.

“You may talk to him, if you want,” he said. Sasuke took that as permission to activate the sharingan: he entered the hall where the kyuubi had been kept prisoner, but the roof was torn open, and the sun was shining inside.

The kyuubi was lying there, and when Sasuke approached him he rolled on his side, offering his belly to Sasuke. Sasuke was still a bit scared of the huge beast (it was not possible for him to achieve again the state of magic fearlessness he had been in an hour ago) and also, while he had learnt a lot about horses by now, he knew nothing about canids, so he caressed the kyuubi's head and his throat before he felt safe to touch its belly. The soft long fur was a pleasure to touch.

Naruto threw him out of his mind by flipping him around so that Sasuke came to lie on his back. He'd be the passive partner today, but this did not mean that he would only lie on his back, doing nothing.

“Don't forget me,” he said again, kissing Sasuke. He moved a bit to the side so that his body no longer covered Sasuke's genitals, meaning he could caress them. He focussed on his cock, with the intention of getting it as hard as possible, watching Sasuke in his bliss. He was still nervous, but also curious, and quite convinced now that Sasuke's cock within him would feel well. He had enjoyed the finger, and had enjoyed being caressed from inside: it was not humiliating, and Sasuke had not taken control. It had just been great. 

He turned on his back again, taking Sasuke with him so that he lay upon himself again. (It was not easy, but Naruto was still a ninja, after all.) 

“It's your turn again,” he said, passing Sasuke the massage oil and caressing his cheeks.


	129. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Six: No longer Alone

Sasuke got active again: he sat up, caressed Naruto's belly, his cock, the inner side of his thighs. Naruto spread his legs and put them on Sasuke's shoulders, and Sasuke took a generous amount of massage oil and distributed it around Naruto's anus. Naruto was looking at him, his smile and dreamy eyes full of anticipation. Sasuke put his finger inside him in order to get some oil in there too, and Naruto seemed all relaxed to him. He bent forward to kiss Naruto, and then, realizing that this was the right moment and the right position, he began to enter him. He had imagined it to be more difficult, but it was all easy now. He gave Naruto some time to adjust, and kissed him again. Naruto gave him a sign to advance, and Sasuke did so. He was all focussed on being gentle now, and on doing everything in a way that was most pleasurable to Naruto. Apparently it worked: Naruto was smiling.

“You like it?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto's smile got more open, and brilliant. He reached out to caress Sasuke's hair and then his cheeks and nose. 

“I've dreamt of this. Always. Since I was a little child, though I had no idea what I longed for. I wanted you to be with me, to care about me, to share yourself with me, your strength, your manliness, your coolness.”

The words had a sobering effect on Sasuke (and a de-arousing one in the bargain.)

“What are you talking about?” 

“I always wanted to be like you. I wanted you to take notice of me. I wanted you to be with me.”

“I always took notice of you. And I don't want you to be like me, I want you to be like yourself.”

He caressed Naruto's cheeks and kissed him, sensing that Naruto was in need of some comfort. He seemed as if he was again the child he had been during his years at the academy, friendless and desperately trying to prove that he was a capable ninja and failing one time after the other. 

“You don't need my strength or my manliness. Now stop talking rubbish, if that's possible for you.”

He smiled and kissed Naruto again, who looked as if he didn't understand anything. “Don't talk anything at all, that's probably the only way to avoid talking rubbish.”

Naruto felt hurt, and he felt hurt even more when he saw that Sasuke was laughing. His words had not been that stupid, after all. Then, however, he got aware that he was hearing Sasuke's laughter for the first time since they had known each other, and so he swallowed his anger.

Sasuke had lost his erection by now, and being inside Naruto began to feel uncomfortable. He slid out of him and snuggled against Naruto, who began to caress the soft spot on Sasuke's flanks.

“You seem happy today,” he said.

“I am,” Sasuke answered. He didn't even regret that their love-making had been interrupted again. “I am with you, so I'm happy.”

“You're not making fun of me.”

“I'm not.”

He caressed Naruto's chest. “You're strong and manly and cute and sometimes just stupid.”

He kissed Naruto's cheeks, and Naruto turned his head so that they could kiss each other. They broke off the kiss when they needed to breathe, and Naruto turned away again, looking at the ceiling, his arm around Sasuke, whose head and arm were resting on Naruto's chest, his other arm lying just somewhere. He was still happy and content with himself and glad that he and Naruto were close again.

Naruto on the other hand felt weird. He did not feel strong at all, and not cute either, but very soft and tired, and also he felt that this muscles and his soul were relaxing. He had always had the kyuubi within him, he had always been subduing him, and so he had no idea how his body and soul would feel when this was no longer necessary. He felt the kyuubi's chakra in his hands and feet and also in his head, yet there was no danger of transforming. He felt the chakra in his bottom and in his genitals too. He felt more relaxed than normal, and also, curiously, more alive than on other days. He felt mostly soft and weird. He returned to the place where he spoke to the kyuubi.

“Sasuke likes us,” he said. “Both of us, I mean he doesn't care you're a monster. He doesn't care that right now I feel neither strong nor cute. You don't need to try and overwhelm him when we have sex.”

The kyuubi didn't openly agree to him, but neither did it protest or declare Sasuke an obstacle on Naruto's path to power. 

Naruto turned to the side to kiss Sasuke. 

“Ready for another attempt?” he asked caressing his flanks and cheeks, and the kyuubi's chakra was in his fingertips while he did that. It did not seem to hurt Sasuke.

Sasuke returned his caresses. To him Naruto looked cute, and in his seriousness he also looked beautiful. “I'm ready when you are.”

Gently he rolled Naruto onto his back again. 

“Just don't spoil it again by talking rubbish,” he said and kissed him. “Don't talk at all!” 

Naruto nodded and responded by caressing Sasuke's hair as Sasuke's head went down his body, kissing every bit of it. Partly Naruto regretted that he was not allowed to talk – on other days he liked telling Sasuke which part of his body needed more attention. So now he was confined to moving Sasuke's head or his hands to where he wanted them. It seemed to be okay with Sasuke – actually it was very welcome to him. He wanted to give pleasure, and he needed signs how to do it best. He wanted to give as much pleasure to Naruto as Naruto had given to him when he had been the active partner. He caressed and kissed his chest and his nipples, the belly, the navel and then also the hips and the genitals. Every now and then he looked into Naruto's face, kissing him and caressing his cheeks and looking into his eyes to see whether he was still at ease and relaxed.

He seemed to be: He was still smiling and enjoyed what Sasuke was doing, and occasionally he caressed Sasuke's head or shoulders. He let Sasuke place a pillow under his hips, and caress the inner side of his thighs, and the folds of skin of the scrotum, and then handed him the bottle of massage oil they were using as a substitute for lube, and put his feet on Sasuke's shoulder to make it easier for him.

Again Sasuke used a generous amount of oil to spread it around Naruto's anus, caressing him in order to help him relax, and then, very carefully, he put again some of the oil inside, stretching Naruto with one finger, carefully feeling for the prostrate. He was less nervous than the first time, still he needed to get aroused more. He supported himself on his hands and looked again at Naruto: the sight of his body aroused him, but even more the expression of his face: all trust and anticipation and joy. This was what he had dreamt of during his lonely nights in Orochimaru's lair, but he had not dreamt that Naruto would welcome him as he did, that he would actually draw him into an embrace and kiss him.

Naruto shall be glad for welcoming me, he thought as he entered him slowly and very gently. He'll enjoy it. He paused to give him time to adjust, and then he entered him fully. Again Naruto drew him into an embrace and kissed him, their tongues met and their breath mixed. For some time Sasuke didn't move, he just enjoyed being inside Naruto: he had thought of giving pleasure, he had not thought how pleasurable it would be to himself, feeling Naruto's warmth around him, and he liked to think that it was not only the warmth of his body but also the warmth of his heart. Naruto's hands moved over his back and his ass, warming these parts of his body too, making Sasuke feel welcome again. He was with Naruto, he was with life itself, surrounded by life and warmth and Naruto. 

Naruto had now adjusted to Sasuke's cock inside him. The initial pain had been far less than he had imagined, and now it was gone completely. Having Sasuke inside him felt weird, but mostly it felt fitting: being extremely close to each other. It was what he had always wanted. It was not about being active or passive, dominant or submissive, it was just about being extremely close. He caressed Sasuke's hair and neck, he looked into his eyes, which were full of tenderness and love, and again Sasuke's smile rendered him breathtakingly beautiful, a bit too feminine maybe, but his body was clearly masculine, and he was still a strong and powerful ninja. Naruto drew Sasuke into a kiss, and when Sasuke's tongue met his own he lost himself. 

Sasuke began to move now (he had to, as he was beginning to lose his erection), and he did his best to find Naruto's prostrate. Their kissing got less intense as they needed to breathe: only their lips met now, not their tongues, and Sasuke did his best to be gentle and tender with his kisses too, but Naruto kept pressing his lips on Sasuke's cheeks, his eyes, his chin and his lips. His hands in Sasuke's hair and on his neck reassured and encouraged Sasuke: It was when he looked into Naruto's eyes that he lost all self-doubt and stopped thinking about himself. 

He climaxed a few seconds after Naruto. Having cared more about making Naruto come than about having an orgasm himself Sasuke was taken by surprise, but then being inside Naruto, feeling the warmth of his body and the tightness of his muscles, had felt great, and having an orgasm was a natural consequence. (He had the impression that Naruto had contracted his muscles to give him even more pleasure.) Sasuke realized how much he had missed sex during the weeks of their alienation, and he also realized that never being the active partner when they still had sex had been a loss, and he was resolved to make up for it in the future. He hoped that Naruto would come to the conclusion that never being the passive partner had been a loss for him, too. 

He withdrew from Naruto as the massage oil's effect was gone by now, and Naruto's skin felt dry. He curled up at Naruto's side and rested his head on his shoulders, playing very gently with his nipples. (He had no intention of arousing him right now.) Naruto caressed his shoulder, and it was him who spoke first: 

“Did you feel it too?”

Sasuke knew that Naruto was not speaking of the orgasm itself, but he was not certain what he was actually talking about. 

“We were no longer two people. We are no longer alone.”

Sasuke would have used different words, still he understood Naruto.

“I felt it too,” he said. 

Even just cuddled against each other they were able to reproduce the feeling, though only if they didn't speak. Finally Naruto broke the silence:

“Just tell me when you're ready for another round.”


	130. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Seven: Juugo's True Age

There was no third round because during the second round Sasuke used up all the massage oil. One of these days they'd need to buy some new oil and give it to the women, they decided when they lay cuddled against each other, looking at the empty bottle. 

They had been able to achieve again that feeling of being not two, but only one person, yet as they had strived for it instead of experiencing it by surprise it had not been the utter bliss it had been the first time. It felt more comforting and reassuring than like a mystical experience: the feeling had been real, they had been able to work for it, and it was not a once in a lifetime experience. 

Having run out of massage oil they went down to the living-room where Juugo, his foster mothers, and a girl, apparently Juugo's girl-friend, were sitting around the table. She was fifteen or sixteen (again Sasuke and Naruto considered her much younger than themselves though in fact she wasn't), and she leant heavily against Juugo. The four of them had been engaged in an intense discussion, but when Sasuke and Naruto joined them they fell silent. 

“You were having fun,” one of the women said, and it was not clear whether it was a statement or a question. “The bed's old and no longer fit for anything but sleeping.”

“How do you feel, Naruto?” the other woman asked.

“Great,” Naruto answered, pressing Sasuke's hand, then he realized that the woman probably had not wanted to know whether their sex had been good. 

“You looked quite ill during lunch,” the woman continued. “I hope it was a good idea that you did not simply take some rest.”

Naruto shrugged. “It's okay.”

The first woman took over again. “We're glad to hear this,” she said, and then she looked at Sasuke: “How old is Juugo really?” 

It took Sasuke some seconds before he was able to answer: “Eighteen or nineteen, maybe even twenty. Older than Naruto and me.”

By now, Juugo was taller than Sasuke, but he did not yet have a man's broad figure, but was slender as a boy.

“During a fight he gave a lot of chakra to save my life, and as a result he was turned into a child. Now the effects of this severe chakra depletion are wearing off.”

The women were silent for a few seconds.

“Why did you not tell us?” the first of them finally said.

“He enjoyed being a child. He enjoyed having parents and playing with other children. I did not want to spoil it for him.”

“Still you might have told us.”

“It was his own decision.”

The women were silent, and Sasuke and Naruto could watch them readjust their perceptions of the situation. If Juugo was really nineteen they could not hold Sasuke responsible for Juugo's action. 

“Why did you not tell us your true age” they now asked Juugo.

“I wanted to be a child. I was afraid you'd turn me away. I wanted to be a child with parents and siblings. I never had the chance to be such a child as I was raised in Orochimaru's dungeons, spending most of my time on my own.”

“Yes, you told us about it. So you grew up with barely any contact to other human beings, and never had a chance to learn to live with people.”

“How can anyone do this?” the other woman joined in. “It's well known after all that children need people to grow up with.”

“I was considered a lunatic. Occasionally I would get into a killing-frenzie and kill random people.”

“You killed people?” 

“Yes. Quite a few of them.”

Naruto was just as shocked as the two women.

“When it was over I regretted what I had done. I did not want to kill them. It was just that every now and then I was overcome by these impulses. I hated myself for it. But when these impulses got hold of me I wasn't able to think, or to hold myself back.”

“And now?” 

“Now I no longer feel these impulses, or if I feel them I am still myself and can subdue them.”

The women swallowed. “You know you put us into great danger,” the first one said. “Not only us, but our kids too.”

“We might have accepted the risk for ourselves,” the second woman added. “But we would have liked to know about it, so that we could have taken precautions to protect our kids.”

“It was no longer risky when I arrived in Music Town,” Juugo said. “I learnt to control myself when I became a member of Sasuke's team. He and his team mates accepted me in spite of these impulses.”

People looked at Sasuke. 

“I needed him because of his extraordinary strength,” he said. “And why should I have treated him differently from my other team members?”

“It was easier to control these impulses when I was with people,” Juugo continued. “Before I was always angry at people because they were happy outside, living with other people and caring for each other, and when I was angry I would kill whomever I met when I was outside. And when I was in my dungeon again I was angry at myself for what I had done and believed that I deserved being shut up.”

There was a silence of a few seconds.

“You don't happen to be a jinchuuriki?” Naruto asked.

Juugo shook his head. “I am not. Akatsuki has caught all the bijuu except yours and Killerbee's”

Naruto suddenly felt dizzy. He and Sasuke were still standing in the door of the living-room but now they sat down at the table. 

“How did it come that you got these impulses in the first place?” one of the women asked Juugo.

“I always thought I was born with them, but now I wonder. I was born with that extraordinary strength, however, that's for sure.”

“How did it happen that you got separated from your biological parents?”

“People came and offered to raise and train me. I think they were from the government. But then there was another offer from Orochimaru that seemed better to my parents. Maybe he offered more money. I used to hate them for it, but maybe they simply didn't know better. Maybe they really thought they chose what was best for me, and had no idea that Orochimaru planned to hide me away in some dungeon and used the extraordinary power in my blood.”

Naruto shivered again. The two mothers were silent too. Only the girl-friend remained active, kissing Juugo on his cheek.

“How can any parents give away their child for money?” the first woman said. 

“And it's also well-known that people who offer to train your child ask for money and don't offer money,” the second woman added. “One should always ask: what's in it for them? before you agree to such a deal.”

“Anyway we're glad we accepted you as our foster son. We liked you right form the beginning. We're glad we could give you a few months as an ordinary child when you never had the chance to be one. We would only have liked to know the truth beforehand.”

It would not have worked, Naruto thought. They would not have treated him as an ordinary child if they had known the truth. 

“I mean, we saw that you were extremely mature for a child of twelve, but it never came to our mind that maybe you weren't a child at all.”

The women looked at Juugo, and after a while he answered them:

“I have to thank you. You have accepted me and treated me as if I was one of your own children, and given me three months of childhood I never had when I was a real child.”

“It was a pleasure,” the second woman said. 

They were all silent for a while. The girl-friend was the first to speak: “So will your grow even higher?” 

“Yes. A few centimetres.”

“And stronger?” 

“I'm even now an extremely powerful ninja with some special powers of my own.”

“Cool.” 

She snuggled against him. 

“If he's really eighteen or nineteen he's too old for you,” one of the women said, obviously disapproving of the girl's desire for a strong, powerful man. Naruto thought that she had not seen the girl's true strength: not being afraid when she had heard of Juugo's fate.

“So you've been turned into a monster too,” he said. “Just what they tried to do to me. Though I escaped the fate of being hidden away in some secret place in Konoha.”

The women turned to him. “Did they want to do this to you too?” 

“Yes. I escaped to Music Town just in time.”

“So you're lucky you escaped. Being kept from other people would truly have turned you into a monster.”

“I was kept from people during my early childhood. Not completely, but I wasn't close to anyone. Sasuke was among the first to recognize me as a human being.”

“So it's thanks to him that you aren't a monster now.”

Naruto shrugged. He took Sasuke's hand without noticing that he did so. “I guess I'm a monster all the same. It's within me, and I can't get rid of it.”

“But you don't plan to kill people, or to go on a rampage and destroy the town?”

“No, of course not. It's just - ” Naruto had to think to find words for his feelings. He was keenly aware of the kyuubi's chakra in all his body at that moment. “I've spent my whole life pretending I'm not a monster, trying to persuade people I'm human and doing my best to subdue the kyuubi. Now I think it's better to stand by it.”

The women looked confused, only Sasuke thought he understood what Naruto meant. He saw the change in Naruto's expression: looking more serious than on ordinary days, more like he looked when he was reading books about the Rikudou, or when he was reading and answering his fanmail, dreaming of peace. Sasuke liked that expression, and thus he did not mind that Naruto did not seem as funny and optimistic as on other days. He was sadder than when he dreamt of peace, but Sasuke considered this understandable, and then there was still the afterglow of the experience of being one they had just shared. Sasuke pressed Naruto's hand to revive the memory of that experience, and then he kissed Naruto's shoulder.

The women still looked irritated.

“Do monsters like tea?” one of them asked. “Or do they prefer other substances?” 

“Tea is okay,” Naruto replied. 

She got up to fetch cups for him and Sasuke and filled them, and for the rest of the conversation they avoided the subject of monsters. Only when the boys were about to leave one of the women asked another disturbing question: “You've told us so much about your father sealing the kyuubi into you, but you never talk about your mother. Do you know anything about her? Did she accept that you got turned into a jinchuuriki?”

“I never considered it,” Naruto answered. “I've never known her, and no one ever spoke to me about her. It 's a weird thing, now that I consider it, no one ever telling me anything about my parents or about any other relatives, making me wonder whether I was descended from human beings at all.”

“And when you were old enough to know that you must have descended from human beings, did you then ask about your mother's identity, and why she gave her consent to the kyuubi being sealed into you?” 

Naruto shook his head. “It never came to my mind. I was made to feel that asking questions was something you didn`t do.”

“It was the same for me,” Sasuke explained. “Naruto was made to believe that he didn't have any parents, or that they had not been from the village. I was made to believe that my brother had turned crazy. No more questions needed to be asked.”


	131. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight: Acceptance

Having arrived at their own place Sasuke and Naruto decided that they would not miss dance training that evening. They felt fine again, after all, and the tournament was approaching. The policewomen who were watching over them frowned when they heard of that plan, but when the boys promised that the next morning they'd turn up at the training center they gave them permission to leave the house (and organized their protection). 

They urgently needed to train if they wanted to win the tournament, but they started slowly. Dancing had become something they did as a sport, caring mostly about the accuracy of their steps and the flexibility of their movements. They had forgotten that in the first place dancing was a way to move in harmony with someone you liked. They discovered that while they were dancing they could also invoke the feeling of being one, communicating with the slightest pressure of their hand. Sasuke was leading, meaning he had to decide which figure they'd dance next, but he thought that he could sense which figure Naruto wanted to dance, and obliged to Naruto's wishes. 

People perceived that something had happened between them and left them alone. They did not even comment on them starting a kiss-in when a figure had gone wrong instead of a discussion, as they usually did. Only after some minutes the dance teacher reminded them that they had a sequence to practise. 

So they practised the sequences, including the acrobatic figures, and finally Naruto could entrust his weight to Sasuke, leaning back as if he was some maiden in need of being rescued, while Sasuke had to bend forward to hold him. It was fun, actually, and Naruto enjoyed pushing Sasuke to his limits, forcing him to admit that he was no longer able to maintain the balance. People watched them and shook their heads and told Sasuke to take care as he might seriously hurt his back. 

“It won't happen,” Sasuke replied. “I know what I'm doing.” 

He was happy too: Holding Naruto was something he deeply enjoyed.

They changed roles, and now it was Sasuke who had to allow himself to be held and to trust Naruto to be strong enough to hold him. It was a bit of a change for both of them as during the whole day Sasuke had been the one who had taken responsibility for both of them, but Naruto was still Naruto, and liked being strong and the one in charge. Sasuke, when he saw into Naruto's eyes, knew that he could trust him, and let go. He enjoyed it, thinking it was a game, as neither of them really needed to be held, but both of them were strong enough for the two of them.

He reached out to caress Naruto's cheek. Naruto bent lower to kiss Sasuke, he tried to change the position of his hands, he stumbled and dropped Sasuke. 

People turned when they heard the fall. They asked what had happened, and Naruto knelt down to see whether Sasuke was hurt, but Sasuke laughed and supported himself on his arms. 

“I'm a ninja. I know how to fall.”

He stopped laughing. He was not used to the sound of his own laughter and found it still scary. Indeed he drew Naruto into a kiss. 

Naruto felt irritated. He had expected Sasuke to tell him off, or make fun of him for not being able to hold him, but he was just laughing and kissing him. Things were special on that day, which was otherwise an ordinary Monday. They kept kissing until they were told to find themselves a place on one of the benches next to the wall, as other people wanted to dance.

Sitting in a corner they continued kissing for a while, then they watched the top couples, admiring how they combined extravagant figures with gracious movements and prefect harmony.

“We'll have that too,” Sasuke said, caressing Naruto's hands. It was not very important however: it was much more important that they were together again, no longer separated by distrust. 

Their friends joined them now. They asked Sasuke whether he was really not hurt from the fall, and he confirmed that he wasn't. 

“People here are always concerned about our health,” he said. “But it's not necessary. We're well used to looking after ourselves. Just this afternoon some other friends tried to persuade us to use condoms.”

It was a mistake of course. People stared at them in shock.

“Don't you use them already?” 

“No. They're weird. And we won't get pregnant anyway,” Naruto replied, his tone making clear that he regretted the last point.

“They are not just about getting pregnant,” one of the men said. “You should be old enough to know this.”

“They're indeed weird,” another one added, “and not very erotic either. But it's really not safe to have sex without them.”

“We won't contract any diseases,” Naruto continued. “We've never had sex with anyone else.”

“Are you certain?” the guy from Earth Country asked.

“I know who I've had sex with, and it's only Sasuke.”

The man looked at Sasuke, and then at Naruto again. “Are you certain about Sasuke too?” 

It took Naruto some seconds to understand him. “Why should he have sex with someone else when he can have sex with me?” 

He had managed to silence the man, at least for some seconds. Luckily Sasuke came to his support now: 

“Why should I have sex with anyone else when I can have sex with Naruto?” 

“Nonetheless you can never be certain.”

“Maybe you can't be certain, but we are. We trust each other.” 

Again Naruto had managed to silence the guy from Earth Country for several seconds.

“You don't trust each other,” he said finally. “You stick to each other as if you were glued to each other. You don't even give each other the chance to have sex with someone else. That's not trust, that's paranoia.”

Naruto had no idea what to answer to this accusation.

“The way you keep watching over each other is considered pathological even among straight people. If you're gay it's even more important to grant each other some freedom. We don't consider our partners our property, as straight people do.”

“We don't have to sleep sleep around just because we're gay,” Sasuke replied.

“You don't have to, but it's your right to do so. You'd be fools to give up your rights.”

He left the boys in order to dance. His husband remained with them and sat down next to them: the rest of the group had already taken up dance training a while ago. 

“You don't need to sleep around if you don't want to,” he said. “Sex should be a pleasure, after all, not some duty, so if you only enjoy sex with each other that's fine too. But you should use condoms. They're a nuisance and make sex more complicated but it's just not safe to have sex without them.” He shrugged. “Anyway, it's your decision. There's some sex education center in town where you can ask experts about your personal risk and whether you may have sex without condoms if you really trust each other not to sleep around, but I guess they'll also tell you that it's better not to take any risk.”

He fell silent. The boys didn't answer because they felt that something else was wrong, and after some minutes Naruto managed to put it in words. “What was that about granting freedom to each other and not owning each other?” 

“He wants an open relationship. You grant each other affairs with other men and trust each other to return when the affair is over. It's a different form of love, and a different form of trust than the ordinary kind.”

“Sounds stupid,” Naruto replied. 

“What does he expect from it?” Sasuke asked. 

The man shrugged. “Some change. Some fun.”

“You don't accept it, do you?” 

“If he wants more freedom I guess I have to grant him more freedom. I can't force him to stay with me. I only need to decide whether I can accept an open relationship, or whether I want to end it altogether.”

“You should tell him to stay with you and not mess around with other men,” Naruto said.

“I can't force him to stay with me if he no longer loves me.”

“But he does,” Naruto said. “Just tell him.”

The man shrugged, making Naruto feel that he considered his advice naive. “You should make use of the rest of the evening and practise your sequence. If you don't feel like training hard you should just dance it for fun. Sometimes that's a good idea.”

He left the boys and after some time they followed his advice. At first it was hard for them to focus on their dancing as they were both troubled by what they had just heard, but with time their thoughts returned to themselves and their own relationship. They did not need to discuss it to know that they did not want to change it into an open relationship, and they both felt that even an attempt to discuss it would signify a lack of trust, so they just held each other more closely and kissed as soon as the music was silent. 

When training was over they got compliments all the same. 

“You were much better balanced than on other days,” their dance trainer said. “I guess that for you it's better if you, Naruto, just look at Sasuke and don't flirt with the audience. It also helps Sasuke to loosen up.”

When they arrived at their place it was already late, and they went straight to bed, but as on every evening Sasuke made a point of meditating in front of his family's photo. It were always awkward moments for Naruto, waiting for Sasuke to join him in their bed, and though he knew that Sasuke would join him after a few minutes he still felt lonely, and also it hurt to be reminded that he did not have any conscious memories of his parents, nor any photos. 

This evening, however, Sasuke did something he had never done before: he turned around, and with his hands he invited Naruto to join him. He laid his arm around Naruto's shoulder and drew him close to himself. Naruto was surprised and happy about not having to wait for Sasuke in their bed, still he felt weird and excluded, leaning against Sasuke, who was lost in his thoughts. 

“What do you think in these moments?” he asked. 

Sasuke returned to the present.

“I talk to my parents,” he said. “I tell them I'm happy. I tell them – I say: I've found a friend and a lover and I'm happy with him, and we'll find a way to have kids, even though we're both men. He's got a monster within him, but it's a nice monster, so it's all right. You'd like him too, if you were able to get to know him. You'd accept him as another son.”

Naruto was not certain what to think of all this. He had been thinking a lot about his own parents these last weeks, and he did not want to be adopted by Sasuke's parents. However he understood that Sasuke really meant to include him into his own family, and to have him accepted by those he loved. He kissed Sasuke's cheek, and Sasuke returned the kiss. He continued: 

“I've found a place where I can be happy. I've found a place where I can live. So I need to ask you to forgive me that I've postponed taking revenge against Danzou until this is possible without risking my life. I promise not to forget you anyway. I think of you every day. I tell people of you. You won't be forgotten, and people won't forget who's repsonsible for your murder. It's just that I'm happy and that I want to live an ordinary life.”

Naruto kissed his cheek. “I'm certain they would be glad to see you happy. That's what all parents want, at least according to people here in Music Town. Your parents would be glad to see you happy too.”

“In Konoha, happiness is not the first priority. In Konoha, parents want their kids to live up to their clan's standards, and to preserve the clan's honour.”

Sasuke turned again to his family's picture, and spoke to it again. 

“I do my best to honour you,” he said. “I learn to be a policeman. Here there are people who are able to teach me how to be a policeman. In Konoha there aren't such people any more. People here have weird ideas about how to be a policeman, but somehow their way to do things works, but most of all, people here know the difference between right and wrong.” 

He swallowed.

“I'll still see that your murder won't go unpunished. They have different methods here. They think I should find proofs and publish what happened, then Danzou's days as Hokage will be over. They think I should not risk my life. They think that exposing Danzou's crimes will be more satisfying than killing him.”

He needed to calm down again.

“That's what I'll do. I'll see to it that the world won't forget you.”

Naruto felt Sasuke's relief. 

“I'll tell the world that not Itachi, but the government of Konoha is the real culprit.”

Naruto put his arm around Sasuke's hips. “You're not alone,” he said. “I'll help you.”

It was only fitting, he thought. If Sasuke wanted his parents to accept him as a son he should behave like a son.


	132. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine: Training

The next morning the head of the police called Sasuke and Naruto to his office. They feared he'd tell them off for being on sick leave in the afternoon and dancing in the evening, but he didn't even mention it. 

“There's good news for you,” he told them when they had taken a seat on the other side of his desk. “We arrested another of Madara's accomplices. The weird shark guy, as you called him.”

“Kisame?” 

“Apparently that's his name. He's really a strange person, but not as weird as the plant guy. Madara has a weird taste when it comes to companions, but then he's weird himself. Anyway, we got that shark guy now. Madara can't last for much longer, and then you can move freely again.”

“Kisame's one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist,” Sasuke said. “How were you able to arrest him?” 

“One of your friends did it, actually. He's one of the Seven Swordsmen too, so you shouldn't wonder.”

“Did they fight?” 

“No. Sword fighting is not allowed in town. You should know this by now.” 

“How did it happen then?” 

“They met, and indeed their impulse was to start a fight, only that your friend did not have his sword with him, so they decided to go to your friend's place and fetch the sword. On their way, however, your friend remembered that he wanted to attend a concert of the man you attacked in Cloud Village, Killerbee. He told Kisame to accompany him, as he should not die before having listened to some decent music. At least this is what he said when we interrogated him. After the concert Kisame, Suigetsu and Killerbee decided to have a beer or two, and also some cocktails, the sweet stuff for women, as Suigetsu was of the opinion that Kisame should have tasted some good beer before he died even though Kisame apparently prefers the sweet stuff. So they had a tour around the bars and night clubs of Music Town, and when we arrested Kisame at four a.m. he did not offer any resistance. It's difficult to interrogate him, though, as he complains of a horrible hangover.”

“I met Kiseame once, and he didn't appear very bright to me,” Sasuke said. “But I wouldn't have expected him to act in such a stupid way.”

The head of the police shrugged. “We've asked him why he agreed to explore the night life of Music Town. He had difficulties focussing on his answer, but he said something on the line that as Madara's ally he had never had the opportunity to explore the bars and night clubs of any town. So it's really a pity that he cannot continue his research, as he's now in prison. Right at this moment our people are busy writing to the daimyou of the ninja countries, asking them for charges against Kisame, so that we can put him on trial.”

Sasuke and Naruto did not know what to say. An arrest of Kisame was not what they had expected, and they had no idea what to make of it. 

“Madara is now without allies, and the ninja countries have located his base. Even with his space-time-ninjutsu he can't be at his base to defend it and at the same time search for you in Music Town and try to lure you into cooperation. He'll soon understand that his situation is hopeless and surrender voluntarily. So you should be glad. When we've arrested Madara you'll be permitted again to move around in Music Town without extra protection. I guess this is more important to you than the fact that soon the threat against Naruto will be removed.”

It wouldn't happen anyway, Naruto thought. Madara had never been able to abduct him or Sasuke against their will, not if they stayed side by side. Now that the kyuubi's chakra was dispersed all over his body it had become impossible to separate it from his own. 

“Certainly it's good news,” he said. 

“You'll be allowed to go on patrol again,” the head of the police continued. 

“I'll enjoy that,” Naruto answered. Sounding a bit more enthusiastic than before: going on patrol was something he had missed. 

They went to their class, and their classmates, who had listened to their teachers while Sasuke and Naruto had been talking to the head of the police, told them that they were supposed to start training for demonstrations. No one had expected it that early, but people told them that around Christmas there were always demonstrations against the commercialization of music and the five big record labels that had more or less divided the market among themselves. As in addition to these traditional demonstrations there were now also the current, more spectacular ones against the new concert hall the forces of the police were extremely stretched, meaning they'd need everyone, including the first year students. 

Sasuke and Naruto still had only vague ideas about demonstrations: For them they were events where people chained themselves to a building or a block of concrete so that the police had to liberate them. Sasuke wondered whether they'd learn to use a chainsaw, but instead they were taken to the dojo where they normally did their martial arts training. Various objects were standing on the floor: cushions, chairs, but also weird objects of rubber foam. 

The teacher asked who among the students had already participated in a demonstration, and about two thirds of them showed up. 

“You'll be the protesters. We've marked a streetcrossing here...” 

Sasuke saw now that the objects on the floor formed a pattern indicating the borders of a street and a side street departing from it. 

“... and the protesters are supposed to turn left, but instead they try to stay on the main road. The police has to see that they take the route that was agreed on. You block the way, you talk to them, you don't use any violence, but you don't let them pass.”

There it was again, Sasuke thought: In Music Town people got into conflicts about taking this or that route on a demonstration, but they would not fight. 

People took their posts. Those who were acting as demonstrators were told to look fierce and determined, making clear that they were not just dropping out of the demonstration but really leading the demonstration, or at least part of it, down a different road. 

“You aren't supposed to use violence either,” the teacher told them. “This is training for a peaceful demonstration. If anything, you circumvent the police, but you don't confront them directly.” 

They did their best as they approached those who were acting as police, looking grim and instinctively forming some kind of block. Sasuke felt how the people next to him closed their lines too, as if they were getting ready to fight. He himself managed to remain relaxed, knowing that the people approaching him weren't a match for him, but he made up his mind to protect those next to him who were on his side. 

It was ridiculous, he thought: no one was going to fight, and if someone did, a simple taijutsu would stop them. He could understand the other students, though: they must feel outnumbered. 

Naruto seemed perfectly relaxed, mostly (in Sasuke's opinion) because he was still quite confused by the situation. Only when the students who approached them were only at a metre's distance he straightened, smiled, or rather beamed at them, and told them in a perfectly calm manner:

“I think you missed the turn. You should take that direction” (he pointed to the side street) “and follow your companions. You can't go straight ahead, because, as you see, there's a festival for children over there.” 

Role-playing Madara had been effective, Sasuke thought. Naruto had learnt to improvise. 

“So you see, there's nothing to be gained by taking this road,” Naruto concluded. 

The students acting as protesters were confused. They had not expected this, and none of them knew how to react. The teacher broke off the scene. 

“You were far too aggressive,” she told the students acting as police. “I told you explicitly that this was supposed to be training for a non-violent demonstration. I could sense your aggression, and, even worse, your fear, from the other side of the room. You should have talked to them, as Naruto did. What have you learnt those last few months, after all? Talk, talk, talk, don't fight. At least you should have supported Naruto when he started to talk. So now try again.”

She gave the students acting as protesters some time to come up with a counter strategy and then they started the scene again. 

After two more attempts Naruto was told to change sides, so that his companions could no longer leave everything to him. He had never been to a demonstration, nor had he ever watched one, but he understood the rules of the game quickly and enjoyed coming up with reasons why he and his friends needed to take the forbidden route, like explaining that they wanted to take a short cut.

With Naruto on the opposite side Sasuke could not resist the temptation of taking up the challenge of finding answers to him: “It may be a short cut, but it's dangerous. You can't take it.”

“Dangerous because of you?” Naruto replied. 

For a second Sasuke considered saying, yes, then he remembered that he was supposed to act in a deescalating way. 

“Not because of us,” he said. “It's just dangerous. We are here to protect you.” He tried to imagine what kind of dangers there might be in Music Town. “There's a huge building-site over there. You'd fall into the hole.”

“I don't fall into holes,” Naruto said, forgetting that he was role-playing.

“You do. You fall into every hole in the street if there's no one to look after you.”

Again the teacher broke off the scene as they were getting childish. “I forgot that you have no idea how people behave at demonstrations,” she said. “Maybe it's better if you take a break and just watch.” 

They sat side by side, leaning against each other. Naruto was beaming, but not as openly as on other days: Sasuke rather felt than saw it. It was again that other kind of happiness, the one that came from inside. Later Sasuke was called back to training, so that he too could learn how to hold back a group without using violence.

“You don't need to find fanciful explanations,” the teacher said. “It's okay if you do, but there's always the risk that their explanations are better than yours. So it's less risky to tell people that there was an agreement about the route and that they should stick to that agreement. Don't hesitate to sound like a broken record. Just try not to appear aggressive.”

It was not that difficult in the end: Sasuke just had to remind himself that he was far stronger than his opponents, and that they did not stand any chance against him. Imagining them to be little children was helpful too, most of all when the teacher changed her instructions and told the protesters to be more aggressive.

Naruto was allowed to stay on the sidelines, watching his classmates. He was content with himself, but even more he was content with what he was being taught here: don't fight, don't shout, don't assert yourself. Just talk and try to confuse your opponent, and maybe make him reconsider his intentions. No one had ever taught him this in Konoha. Naruto knew that Sasuke loved Music Town and preferred it to Konoha, but only now he began to understand him. 

He also enjoyed being singled out as the one who had figured out before anyone else how to deal with such a situation. Normally he was just an average student, while Sasuke, investing a lot of work and ambition, had become a top student again (though not the top student.) For the first time Naruto enjoyed being a policeman. 

The young people at the riverside were less enthusiastic when they heard about Naruto's experiences. 

“That's not the real thing,” they said. “the real thing is violent battles between police and protesters, or the protesters getting surrounded and being caught in a kettle with no opportunity to go to the toilet.”

People here had weird ideas about what constituted an unbearable hardship, Sasuke thought. 

“Sometimes they get beaten up brutally.”

“We were taught not to use violence,” Naruto said. 

“That's what they tell beginners. They want you to believe you're the good guys. They want you to believe you're in the right when one day you beat up some protesters: You did your best not to employ violence, so if you did it all the same it was only because the protesters did not leave you any other option.” 

“Also, your classmates who acted as demonstrators were fools. Real demonstrators are not that easily confused. They won't be held back just by talking, but insist on going where they want to go. They'll just do it, and then the police will use violence and say they didn't have a choice.”

“That's the real thing. They're friendly as long as you follow their instructions, but if you don't they show their true face.”

“But there are agreements,” Naruto said. “People told us that the route of the demonstration is the result of a cooperation meeting between the police and those who organize the demonstration.” 

“Cooperation is a beautiful word for what happens on these meetings! The route is enforced on the protesters, and it's all supposed not to hinder people who are doing their shopping on Saturday afternoons, and then they are told to declare it's a result of some cooperation.” 

“They have good reason to depart from it! But the police will beat them up for it,” another young man added.

“They're the same everywhere. They're servants of the state, and they'll fight mercilessly everyone they consider an enemy of the state.”

“They don't kill people in Music Town,” Sasuke said. 

“They do! You'll see it yourself when you're no longer a first year student.”

“If you want you can have a look at our side of the conflict,” a young woman added. “We train our people too. We teach them how to react when the police begin to get aggressive.”


	133. Chapter One Hundred-Thirty: Unexpected Support

There were a lot of discussions at the meeting for protesters when the young woman who had invited them introduced Sasuke and Naruto as policemen-to-be who wanted to learn about demonstrations from the demonstrators' point of view. They were suspected of being spies, who'd pass on important information about tactics and strategies.

“We won't!” Naruto said. “We aren't traitors! We are ninja: we are true to our friends!” 

People looked at him as if he had said something extremely weird. 

“They're from Konoha,” the young woman said, excusing them. “And they haven't had any opportunity to watch a demonstration or participate in one. They've been here only for a few months.”

This new piece of information changed people's attitude: People got curious and more open: “You're really from Konoha? How did you manage to escape?” 

“I fled during the days of chaos after Pain's attack, right before Danzou established himself in the position of Hokage.” 

“You must deem yourself lucky, considering what he's putting the village through.” 

“Actually not,” Naruto replied, mostly for the sake of contradicting these people whom he considered a bit weird. “I wish I were with my friends and could help them. I had to flee because Danzou was targeting me in particular, but I'd prefer that the threat against me had not been greater than the threat against anyone else, so that I could have remained there and be with them and support them.” 

“They want to learn our techniques of resistance so that they can apply them against Danzou,” the young woman explained. “Their interest has nothing to do with working for the police here in Music Town. It's just about Konoha.”

Now people's faces brightened with wide smiles: “You want to fight Danzou? Of course we'll support you. Welcome!”

Some people still contradicted, and there was a discussion of half an hour before a consensus was achieved: They would teach them some general techniques as blockades and sit-ins, which were generally known among the population of Music Town, but they would not tell them the specific actions and strategies that were planned for the next demonstration. 

“Like this you won't be able to tell your superiors anything they don't know already. Though sometimes we wonder how little they've learnt in recent years about sit-ins, and about our determination.”

By the time the discussion ended Sasuke and Naruto had stopped to care about its outcome: they were just glad that people had stopped discussing their right to participate in the demonstration training while they were listening. They had begun to wonder whether they even wanted to participate as they were not certain whether they liked the group: they liked the young woman who had invited them, but the rest were even weirder and crazier than their friends from the riverside. 

Their behaviour changed, however, after they had come to a decision, and after the decision had been accepted by Sasuke and Naruto. They were welcomed a second time, and then they were taught about sit-ins: they learnt to hold fast to their neighbours to make it as difficult as possible to break the line of protesters, and they learnt the best position for the moment when they were finally carried away: the position that was least painful to them and most inconvenient to the police. 

Most importantly, however, they learnt that they were not allowed to get aggressive and fight back. They were only allowed to protect their faces. Sasuke and Naruto offered the group to teach them a taijutsu move that was more effective than just covering their faces with their lower arms: diverting the attack. It was a purely defensive move according to their own standards, but people told them that for a sit-in it was out of question, as it would be considered violence and resistance here: 

“The police tries to criminalize us. Some people have even been sued for protecting their head with their arms. We've engaged some lawyers for their defense, and we hope for a decision that makes clear once and for all that protecting your face or head while you are being beaten up does not count as violence or resistance,” the coach who was responsible for the training told them. 

“Why does protecting yourself count as violence if you don't hurt anyone?” Naruto asked.

The coach shrugged. “Ask your superiors at the police.”

Knowing to fight they quickly learnt to prevent themselves from being (literally) carried away, and even found some new tricks to stabilize the chain of protesters, which they taught the whole group. Feeling neither fear nor hatred it was also easy not to panic when some trainers, acting as police, tried to break the chain and carry them away, contrary to some of their fellow would-be demonstrators. One of them was no longer able to control himself: he shouted at the people who tried to carry him away and used his elbows to defend himself. After the third attempt he decided to take a break, and after explaining that he used to be beaten up in a similar way by some kids on the playground he and the coaches came to the conclusion that it might be better if he did not participate in the sit-in and rather joined the regular demonstration. 

When training was over the whole group had coffee and tea. Naruto told them that what they had practised resembled some of the games he played with the kids at the project he and Sasuke worked at on Friday afternoons: 

“Normally we play these games with them when regular training is over. The kids are supposed to feel how strong they are if they stick together as a group. They're not allowed to hurt their opponents, that's us, either.”

People nodded understandingly. “That's a valuable lesson you teach them,” one of them said. 

“We call it the Will of Music,” another one added. “If you need to achieve something you need to work together. You need to listen to each other, and everybody has their own voice.”

Naruto fell silent, considering the differences between the Will of Fire he had learnt to value, and the Will of Music. He had been taught to protect his precious people and use the anger that arose in him when his precious people were attacked as a source of power. 

People had taught him to use his anger, but not to use the kyuubi. No wonder it had been so difficult to tame him. He reached out to the demon within him: “There's no need to get angry at people here,” he told him. “Here they play childish games, but they don't hurt each other. Here you're safe.” Then he leant against Sasuke: “We've learnt to cooperate too, haven't we?” 

Sasuke nodded: his thoughts were elsewhere: “It's fine that you practise controlling your fear,” he told the coaches, “and I guess it's a great experience for children to perceive how strong they may become when they work together. But I don't see what you achieve. In the end the police always win.”

“They do, but we may delay them. Last time we delayed them for several hours.”

“But what do you gain by delaying them?” 

“Next time there'll be more people. Then we'll delay them for a couple of days.” 

Sasuke did not press any further. These were weird people, and their logic escaped him. He waited until the evening when he and Naruto visited Juugo's fostermothers.

“We spent the afternoon playing games,” he told them. “We played the kind of games we usually play on Friday afternoons with the kids of the project we work at. We play them when they are too tired to focus on their training and need to exasperate themselves and have some fun. They get an opportunity to feel their strength, but they are not allowed to hurt anyone. Only that people here consider this a valid way of protesting against a policy they don't approve of.”

The two women asked for more precise information, and after some lengthy explanations they understood that Sasuke was talking of sit-ins and blockades as a way of protesting against the new concert hall. 

“They know that in the end they're going to lose,” he said. “And still they just sit on the street and accept that they're carried away.” 

“They set a sign,” one of the women replied. “They show they're against the new concert hall, and by sitting on the street they make clear they're serious about it.”

“I would make sure that they could not carry me away. That would be my way of making clear I'm serious.”

“It's a good thing then that you've joined the police and don't side with the demonstrators,” the second woman said. “Just make sure you don't use any disproportionate violence.”

“Why should I do this? They're like children: I could not hurt them.”

The women smiled, making Sasuke feel that they did not take him seriously. 

“Does it ever work?” Naruto asked. “I mean, do the protesters ever achieve their aims?” 

“They do, though normally not in the course of a single demonstration. But some politicians are already wavering and wondering whether the new concert hall is really a good idea.” 

“Politicians change their mind because people demonstrate?” 

“Sometimes. It's not common, but occasionally it happens. It happens when they realize there's a majority with the protesters.” 

“It would not work in Konoha,” Sasuke said. “In Konoha, people would just laugh about them. Danzou would also laugh about them and never change his mind. And he would not be content having them carried away. He'd send ANBU to fight them. He would not care about majorities.”

The women were silent. “I guess it's more difficult in a militaristic society as Konoha,” one of them finally replied.

“I wonder how it comes that people here fight at all,” Naruto said. “We've trained both with the police and with the demonstrators, and both sides told us to remain calm and not get aggressive even when the other side attacks you. But when both sides refrain from violence, how does it come that they fight at all?” 

“Most demonstations remain peaceful, actually.”

“But both sides tell stories about how the other side attacked them and brutally beat them up.”

The women looked at each other. “Sometimes it happens that there's fights in the streets. That's the demonstrations that stick in people's minds. They're getting rare, though, fortunately.”

“But each side says it's the other side who starts the fighting,” Naruto said. “Whose fault is it then?” 

Again the women looked at each other. “You work with children don't you? Haven't you ever listened to them after you ended a fight? They'll both blame the other for starting it.”

Naruto had to admit that this was true. 

“It's the same with demonstrations. Both sides see themselves as the good guys.”

“You need to understand this if you're really planning to save the world and establish peace between the ninja countries,” the second woman added. “In practically every war both sides hold the other side responsible. It's never their own fault: as if the leaders of countries were still in kindergarten. That's why it's so difficult to end a conflict.”

“Weren't you offered to participate in a seminar on solving conflicts between kids? Maybe you should accept the offer. When you've learnt to solve conflicts between children you'll also be able to solve conflicts between countries.”

“I don't think so,” the second woman said. “Politicians are more difficult than children. They're more immature, and they crave their people's recognition.”

“But that makes their conflicts easier to solve, not more difficult...”

The women spent some time discussing the differences between politicians and kindergarten kids. Sasuke and Naruto listened without believing their ears, or knowing whether they should take them seriously. Only when their discussion ended Sasuke spoke again: 

“But even though both sides always claim that the conflict is the other side's responsibility it's not always true that both are equally responsible. Sometimes it's clear which side started the conflict.”


	134. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One: Semi-Tribal Society

It was time for Sasuke's appointment with the Ph.D. student who wrote his dissertation about the history of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke asked Naruto to join him, and Naruto agreed, not only because this was what he always did, but also because he was interested in what the young historian had to tell about Sasuke's family. 

It was a bit difficult to find the man's office in the department for history, and when they had found it the man was not there, but only some woman who told them to look for her colleague “as he must be somewhere”. Luckily they ran into him when they went to look for him. 

The man seemed full of joy about seeing Sasuke, and Naruto was welcomed too, most of all when they told him that Naruto was from Konoha too. 

“You want tea, or coffee? Let's go to our seminar room where it's less chaotic than here.”

Indeed the man's office was full of books and papers, and it was difficult to see where they might have put a tea cup.

The man led them to the seminar room, left them for a few minutes and then brought coffee for Sasuke and tea for Naruto and sat down opposite to them.

“I'm so excited,” he said. “It's well known that one young boy was spared when the Uchiha clan was murdered, but his whereabouts were unknown as he had left Konoha. So I simply cannot tell you how much it means to me that I meet you here in Music Town. Including your perspective into my dissertation will add an extra flavour to it, and raise it above the level of the typical scientific work that mostly consists in reading what other people wrote and reinterpreting it.”

Sasuke felt weird. Certainly the man was nice, but also he felt that he was being used.

“I'd like to know what kind of book you're writing,” he said. “And I want to know why in the first place you do research on my family.”

“Yes, certainly, you're perfectly correct,” the Ph.D. student said, accepting the question as a neutral question and not as the reproach it had been intended as. “I should explain this first. You're definitely entitled to know this before you talk to me. Well, our group does research on relationships between minorities and those who view themselves as the regular population. We are part of an international cooperation that deals with conflicts of this kind all over the world, and our part is conflicts within the ninja countries. So I chose the Uchiha clan as my own project for my dissertation, first because no one has done any research on it so far, and second because as a little boy I was fascinated by ninja. I considered them cool, and Konoha was my favorite ninja villahe because it was the strongest, and the Uchiha were my favorite clan because they were the strongest of Konoha. With time I grew more mature, of course, but part of my fascination remained. I began to follow the news on the ninja countries and developed a more realistic image of them.”

Sasuke felt flattered, but he was not content. He still felt that he was being used. 

“Hearing of the massacre against the Uchiha clan changed this however. It completely destroyed what had survived of my romantic notions about ninja. You know, I've always been fascinated by the story of the two most powerful clans putting aside their differences and founding the strongest ninja village ever. I felt fascinated by the Uchiha. I still can't believe you're sitting right in front of me.”

Sasuke felt annoyed. He activated his Sharingan and put a genjutsu on the man: he made him see the room in flames, and also he made certain that he and Naruto were no longer visible to him. He made it last for half a minute, then he released it: he did not want to be cruel.

“Wow! Was that a genjutsu? I always wanted to know how it is to be inside one.”

People in Music Town don't think that anything may happen to them, Sasuke thought. When they see the room in flames they immediately believe in an illusion.

The Ph. D. student reached out for his cup of coffee, took a sip and choked. “Why is it black? I added some milk to it, I'm certain! I swear I saw the coffee with milk the moment I lifted the cup.”

“That was the real genjutsu,” Sasuke explained. “Something plausible, so that your opponent believes in it. It's an extra if you can hide it under a more spectacular genjutsu.”

“Good trick, though I hope you don't consider me your opponent,” the Ph.D student said, pouring some milk into his coffee and beginning to drink it. Then he continued his story:

“When I heard that the Uchiha clan had been murdered by a child I was all disappointed: They were supposed to be the strongest ninja of all, so how could it happen to them? Of course I was a bit childish myself at the time, judging them only by their strength, and my own childish desire for power and superiority.”

Sasuke considered the man's age. He was in his late twenties, so he must have been in his late teens when he had heard of the Uchiha massacre: just as old as Sasuke was now. 

“My interests turned to other subjects, but I kept looking for news on the Uchiha clan. With time I grew more curious again, though in a more mature way, and I began to ask questions: Why had it been possible that the Uchiha had been killed by one of their own children? What had been the child's motivations? Had there been someone else, pulling strings from the background? And why wasn't there anyone else asking the same questions?” 

People here don't believe that children turn crazy out of nowhere, Sasuke thought. I believed it, but I was seven at the time. Maybe when you are seven it's normal to believe that your thirteen-year-old brother simply turns crazy. 

“Danzou and the Third Hokage of Konoha ordered my brother to murder our family,” he said. “There were people behind the massacre. My brother was not crazy or power-hungry, but he had been manipulated into believing that our clan was evil as they were busy planning a coup d'etat.”

“That's quite a strong accusation,” the Ph.D. student replied. “It's a possible explanation, certainly, given that there has never been an investigation into the background of the massacre, but there's other, less extreme possibilities too, e.g. that someone from another country was behind the massacre but that the administration decided to abstain from investigating the murder for political reasons.”

“It would still have been their responsibility.”

“Do you have any proof of your theory?” 

“Our friend back in Konoha is searching for proof.”

“And if you don't yet have any proof, how did you get that idea that the government of Konoha might have been behind the massacre?”

“Madara told me.”

“Uchiha Madara? Is he still alive? Was he not killed by the First Hokage?” 

“He managed to survive.”

“But even then he'd be extremely old by now.”

“He is, but he's still in good health. He runs around trying to abduct Naruto, and he wears a mask, but I believe that what he told me about my clan's murder was correct: they were murdered because the administration of Konoha ordered their murder. After all, what he told me about the ghettoization of my clan was true too.”

“It's common knowledge that the Uchiha clan was ghettoized,” the Ph.D. student said. “At least among historians. Did you not notice it when you were still living in Konoha, before your family was murdered?”

Sasuke shook his head. “I was seven at the time. I knew I had to return home immediately when school was over, but I thought that this was normal. I did not know that other kids met their friends to play with them. I only played with my brother and with my cousins.”

“So your parents didn't tell you that you were ghettoized and that no one was allowed to leave the ghetto without permission except for school or for work?”

“They didn't. My life seemed completely normal to me.”

“They wanted to protect you, I guess. They wanted you to grow up without knowing that your clan was kept under surveillance in some kind of giant prison.”

Sasuke leant back, considering the man's words. He understood them intellectually, but they did not touch his heart.

“You still haven't told me what you want to find out with your research,” he said.

“My plan is to investigate the mechanisms of turning a part of the population into a minority in a semi-tribal society and compare them to the mechanisms that are at work when the same thing happens in a more complex, more differentiated and more abstract society.”

“What do you mean, semi-tribal?” Sasuke asked, feeling offended.

“In Konoha, the primordial elements of society, that is families or clans, are still an important institution of the polity. There are other, more formal institutions too, as the military hierarchy, or ANBU that recruits its members from every clan except the Uchiha while they were still alive, but clan affilitations are still an important factor in politics.”

“Everybody loves their family and is loyal to them, aren't they?” Sasuke said. “Even here in Music Town family is important.” 

“Family is important, but it's not of political relevance. In Konoha that's still different, though when you consider the village's development from the time it was founded to the present you can see that power has moved from the clans to more modern political institutions, institutions you are not born into but that accept you because of your talent and allow you to rise in the hierarchy according to your qualifications. There's exceptions from this development, however: First, the line between ninja and civilians has never been blurred, and only occasionally a child from a civilian family is accepted as a ninja, though never in a high position, and second, the Uchiha clan have always been in charge of the police, meaning that the police remained a clan's institution, and on the other hand the Uchiha were confined to the police and could not enter other segments of the military. Most importantly, they could not become members of ANBU.”

“We were in charge of the police because we were the strongest clan of all,” Sasuke replied. 

The young historian shook his head. “You haven't understood the problem. Having the Uchiha in charge of the police means that they were defined by their descent. Members of other clans could choose what they wanted to be, for members of the Uchiha clan it was clear from the moment they were born. It meant that they were identified with the police, and the police was identified with them.”

Sasuke didn't know what to answer. The man's words went over his head and confused him, and also he felt that the man questioned his decision to become a policeman himself. 

“It meant that the Uchiha clan was singled out as different. Maybe as stronger than others, as you said, but most of all different. When I started my research on what preceded the Uchiha massacre this was the first thing that stuck out to me: that while everyone else profited from the modernization and growing openness of Konoha's institutions and of society itself, the Uchiha didn't.”

“They were given the police after Madara left the village and fought the First Hokage,” Sasuke said. “It was a compensation for being excluded from all other positions of power.”

“Who told you so?”

“Madara.”


	135. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two: Complicated

The Ph.D. student hesitated, and Sasuke watched him considering whether he should take Madara seriously as a source of knowledge, and whether he should openly dismiss him.

“It's more complicated, actually,” the young historian finally said. “At the time of his fight against the First Hokage Madara had already lost his position as head of his clan. He had lost this position during the peace negotiations with the Senju Clan. He had never been a politician, but rather a war hero, and he did not cope well with the fact that he and his superpowers were useless during peace negotiations, and insignificant after the foundation of Konoha. Capturing the kyuubi together with Hashirama gave him some sense of importance, but when this was accomplished he fell into obscurity again, and more or less out of boredom he challenged the Hashirama to fight him for the position of Hokage. Hashirama accepted. There's still a debate among historians why he did this, as no one would have accepted Madara as hokage at that point, not even his own clan. The Uchiha had distanced themselves from Madara and his idea of politics a long time ago. It did not make sense to hold the whole Uchiha clan responsible for Madara's actions, and to give them the police as a compensation for excluding them from all other positions of power.”

“So why then was the police given to the Uchiha?” Sasuke asked.

“It was part of the original peace treaty. The Uchiha took charge of the police, the Senju clan got ANBU and the post of Hokage. It was supposed to be a means of dividing power between the two clans. It was quite an innovative system at the time it was established, but with time, and with the inclusion of more clans to the village than just Senju and Uchiha, the system became dysfunctional. Senju understood this, Uchiha did not. Senju opened ANBU to other clans, and giving the post of Hokage to Sarutobi Hiruzen they also made clear that they did not cling to that highest position of power either. The Uchiha clan first considered this crazy: giving away power without necessity or compensation was beyond their understanding. Later, when they saw the consequences of these decisions, they blamed Senju of tilting the balance of power between the two clans by turning other clans into allies of Senju. They did not understand that clan affiliations had lost their significance and that it was the individual's capacity to serve the village that was most important now.”

“So you think this is the reason that people turned against the Uchiha?” 

The Ph.D. Student shook his head. “It's always more complicated. History is not a series of events that follow each other in some kind of natural order, one event causing the next one. There's always other options: With time the Uchiha might have understood that the time of clans as centers of power was over. They might have become a mere family: a group of people bound by common descent or marriage who support each other raising children and caring for old people and who generally care for each other, but who don't compete for power with other families or clans. Maybe some young head of clan might have brought about the change. Maybe the other clans might have convinced the old conservative head of clan to change his policy by suggesting a new compromise and a new division of power: You open the police to other clans, we open ANBU to the Uchiha and make clear that they may rise to the office of Hokage just as anyone else.”

“My brother was admitted to ANBU,” Sasuke said. “This was when he began to behave weird.”

“Itachi? The boy who murdered your clan?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then he was the first member of the Uchiha clan to be admitted to ANBU since the foundations of the village. Though at that time this could not work as an offer of reconciliation. Other steps as ending the ghettoization would bave been more urgent then.”

“It was not meant as an offer of reconciliation,” Sasuke said. “It was a way of turning my brother into a murderer.”

He felt very weird. His intention had been to appear tough and strong during the interview, and to make clear what he thought of people who turned his clan into an object of research, but now, listening to the man's analysis of the history of the Uchiha clan, which was much more rational and made much more sense that Madara's account of hatred passed down from generation to generation, had touched and disturbed him. For a fraction of a second he thought he was fainting, then he got a grip on himself.

“Are you okay?” the young historian asked. “Do you need a break? Do you want to stop talking and come back another day?” 

Sasuke shook his head. “I'm fine,” he said. 

Nonetheless the man got up and prepared another cup of coffee. Naruto drew Sasuke into an embrace, sensing that Sasuke needed it. When the man returned they dissolved the embrace.

“So it was neither because of Madara's fight against the First Hokage, nor because of the Uchiha keeping the village for themselves that the rest of the village turned against them,” Sasuke said. “But what other reason is there? Madara told me it was becasue of the kyuubi's attack.” 

“That's just a superficial reason” ,the Ph.D.student replied. “You don't accuse a group of people of calling a monster to attack your village if you don't already hold a grudge against them. Also I think that you should stop looking for any rational motives to ghettoize and even murder your clan. There aren't any. What people bring up are so-called rationalizations: on the surface they appear to make sense, but if you take a closer look at them their logic is flawed. Don't fall into the trap of believing them. Murderers always find good reasons why they just had to murder someone, but their reasons are mostly immoral. Don't believe them: There's never a valid reason for murder.” 

“I never thought that those who ordered the murder of my clan had a good reason to do this,” Sasuke replied. “I always considered their murder a crime. I just want to know why it happened.”

“I'm not certain whether there was any way to prevent the murder,” the Ph.D. Student said, making Sasuke bite his lips: he had not intended to intimate that the murder might have been prevented. 

“After being ghettoized the only viable option they had was leaving the village, and for this they needed to negotiate for a permission to leave.”

“Or they might have fought back.” 

“That would have been suicide. They were a strong clan, but they were by far outnumbered. Also, if they had been victorious, what would they have gained? They would not have had any legitimacy, neither in the eyes of the people of Konoha nor in the eyes of ninja from other villages. They needed to find a way that made them appear the good guys: asking to be allowed to escape a situation of oppression, and convincing others that the reason for the ghettoization was not well founded. It's difficult of course when you are ghettoized, but not impossible. After all, they were still allowed to leave their compound for work, so that they might have found a sympathizing villager or a journalist from another country. They would have needed to be lucky, but they weren't lucky, and then it was too late. You should not blame them: they could not have prevented the murder.”

“I don't blame them,” Sasuke said. “I blame Danzou and the late Sandaime and his councillors.”

“It's not only them either. They could not have done anything if it had not been for the support of the population of Konoha.”

“And they had the population's support because the Uchiha were accused of calling the kyuubi to attack the village. But this is no reason to murder them.”

“No, it isn't. Though actually the murder hasn't been proven yet. At least I won't include it into my dissertation. I'll give a summary of the official version, express my doubts, and then I will explain why I focus on what happened during the years and decades before the massacre. I can't found my research on something that's not been proven.”

“Naruto and myself will find proof,” Sasuke said. “And we will tell the whole world that Danzou is responsible for the murder of my clan.”

“It will certainly come as a relief if you manage to do this before my dissertation is finished,” the Ph.D. Student said, making clear that he was not taking Sasuke seriously. “It would confirm my point that the mechanisms of ostracizing and scapegoating a considerable part of the population follow the same patterns everywhere, and that there's not much difference between a modern, complex society and a society that's still organized in a more archaic way. Still I think that what happened before the massacre or even before the ghettoization is far more interesting than the ghettoization itself, or the question who's responsible for the murder. I guess this will be painful to you as for you it was definitely the massacre that changed your life, but I think the interesting things happened before the ghettoization, as then the course of events still could have been altered.” 

“The course of events could have been altered any time before the massacre,” Sasuke said. “But go on! I'm interested in your ideas, and you still haven't told me why in your opinion people turned against my clan.”

“I guess you're correct: even a short time before the massacre the course of events could have been changed. The massacre was not inevitable. It had just become difficult at the time to change the hatred and prejudice against the Uchiha, as there was hardly any contact between them and the rest of the population of Konoha. I'm more interested in how the hatred came into existence.”


	136. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three: Another kind of logic

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three: Another kind of logic

“So how do you think did the hatred against the Uchiha come into existence?” Sasuke asked. 

“I told you there's no rational reasons why people turned against the Uchiha clan. There's a few points, as not opening the police to other clans, that may be interpreted as explanations, but they did not cause the hatred. There would have been other solutions, just as when at the time of Madara's fight against the First Hokage people did not turn against the whole clan but accepted that Madara had acted on his own and without the support of his clan, meaning they could not be held responsible. So if you look for causes for the hatred against the Uchiha you need to look for the irrational causes: for reasons that have nothing to do with the Uchiha clan's actions themselves, but rather with the psychological condition of those who developed the hatred.”

Sasuke looked at him, waiting for what was to come.

“I believe that the hatred against the Uchiha cannot be explained without taking into account the Second and Third Ninja World War and the devastations and loss of power they caused to Konoha and Fire Country. People suffered not only from their own wounds and from losing precious people, but also from the humiliation of no longer being the most powerful ninja village on the continent. Yet instead of asking themselves which of their own actions, e.g. starting a war, might have caused the suffering, they sought for someone else to blame for the defeat, of for the messy draw after the Second Ninja World War.”

“But why the Uchiha?” Sasuke asked. “They were part of Konoha just as anyone else.”

“I think that this cannot be explained without referring to the kyuubi. At the heart of the debates about the reasons for the defeat after the Third Ninja World War, or the draw after the Second Ninja World War, there has always been the kyuubi. People discussed whether using it might have prevented the defeat, or whether using it more excessively might have gained them a clear victory in the Second Ninja World War.”

“But what has this to do with the Uchiha?” Sasuke asked, though he already suspected what the answer would be.

“The Uchiha were needed to control the kyuubi as a backup for the jinchuuriki. The decision to use the kyuubi would have implied that some of them would have had to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan, or even better the Permanent Mangekyou Sharingan. At the time of the Second Ninja World War there were still some old clan members alive who had obtained it before the foundation of Konoha, when Madara was still head of clan. You may know that Madara was the first member of the clan to awake the Mangekyou, and then even the Permanent Mangekyou Sharingan.”

“I do.”

“He managed to persuade a few of his fellow clan members to follow his example. Not everyone of course, nor even the majority. It was rather the exception than the rule that someone decided to acquire the Mangekyou. It's only acquired at extremely high costs, as you may know.”

“I know,” Sasuke answered. He did not intend to tell the man that he himself had obtained the Mangekyou, though without wanting it.

“Nobody obtained the Mangekyou or the Permanent Mangekyou after the foundation of Konoha. The Uchiha were glad that with peace being established between their own clan and Senju and with Madara being removed from his position as head of clan there was no need for the Mangekyou any more. Those who had obtained it were regarded with distrust for what they had done in order to obtain it. Some of them managed to dispel the distrust by publicly regretting what they had done. All of them, whether they had publicly renounced their actions or not, were needed however to keep the kyuubi in check during the Second Ninja World War. A couple of them died during the war, others died from old age, and only one of them was still alive during the Third Ninja World War, and he was too old to be asked to participate. There was no question of using the kyuubi then, though already in the last years of the Second Ninja World War there had been considerable problems with keeping it under control. It was clear that if Konoha wanted to use it again some Uchiha would have to acquire the Mangekyou in order to control it.”

Both Sasuke and Naruto shivered.

“The matter was discussed in the Clan Council and in the Jounin Council and in private discussions between the Sandaime and the councillors and the leaders of the Uchiha clan, but the result was always the same: the Uchiha refused to allow their children to acquire the Mangekyou, and most of all they refused to regard their younger children as providers of eyes for their older siblings so that they could obtain the Permanent Mangekyou Sharingan. They had been glad when Madara was no longer with them, telling them that they needed get their hands dirty and sacrifice their children, for the wellbeing and honour of their clan as a whole, and they did not want these times to return. The rest of the village accused them of being selfish.

The Uchiha reacted to this by suggesting arrangements to make their kids play with other kids, so that the Uchiha kids might become best friends with kids from other clans, meaning that some kids from other clans would have had to be killed to allow some elite Uchiha kids to obtain the Mangekyou.

The Uchiha hoped that like this the other clans would see the cruelty of what they demanded from the Uchiha and drop their demand, yet instead they told their children to withdraw from Uchiha children and not play with them any more, and then they continued to accuse the Uchiha of being selfish. They were beyond logic at that time already: thinking only of simple explanations for the suffering and humiliation they felt after the Third Ninja World War: The defeat happened because Konoha did not use the kyuubi,and they did not use the kyuubi because the Uchiha refused to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan and let their children be killed or blinded for it. So for people who thought on these lines the solution was simple too: The Uchiha should agree to kill or blind some of their children so that others might obtain the Mangekyou or the Permanent Mangekyou Sharingan, and then they might again act as a backup for the jinchuuriki, so that Konoha could use the kyuubi again, and then all of Konoha's problems would be solved. It does not work of course: after all, Konoha's problems started at a time when it still provided over the kyuubi's power.”

“I thought my clan was blamed for the kyuubi's attack against Konoha some seventeen years ago,” Sasuke said. “But not for the draw of the Second Ninja World War and the defeat in the Third Ninja World War.”

“It began long before the kyuubi's attack. There's always a long history behind the ostracization and scapegoating of a group of people. Of course, after the kyuubi's attack people soon claimed that it had been the Uchiha's fault, but this was mainly because even before people believed that the Uchiha were guilty of everything, or at least that they might be guilty of anything. They were accused of having created some Mangekyou Sharingan users in secret, with the intention of using the kyuubi for their own selfish purposes.”

“But why should they have done this?” Sasuke asked. “They suffered from the kyuubi's attack just as anyone else.”

“Don't look for logic,” the Ph.D. Student said. “Or at least: don't look for the ordinary kind of logic. The mechanisms that lead to the scapegoating, ostracizing and finally the murder of a whole group of people follow their own logic, which is completely separated from reality and does not care about inconsistencies. The Uchiha were not able to see through that kind of logic. They were simply confused by the situation, and by the accusations against them. They had got the impression that other clans had approved of their decision that no child should be slayed or blinded any more, and to remove Madara from his position as head of clan which he had used to promote this way of acquiring power. They did not understand that again they were expected to kill and blind their children, only that now the grand whole that had to be protected was the village, not the clan. They had not noticed the change of ideology. They had realized that bonds of loyalty between clan members had been weakened, and replaced by more formal relationships between people who were not related to each other, but had not perceived that new imperatives of loyalty had been created: the new bond that united people and made them feel as parts of one big whole was now the village, not the clan.”

“There's nothing bad about being loyal to your clan,” Sasuke said. “People here care for their families too, and do a lot for them.”

“No, of course not. But people here normally don't slay or blind their children. Though to be just: this has never been normal among the Uchiha either, and those who did it under Madara's influence were regarded with suspicion. Normally in a clan, or a family, the demand that people give priority to the clan's needs and sacrifice their own wellbeing for the benefit of all is balanced by the fact that everybody is loved and cared for by the rest of the family. Only in a more abstract society it may happen that people don't just share their time or their money but also sacrifice their lives. Normally people ask those they don't care about to sacrifice themselves, not their own precious people. You can't organize a large society of hundreds or even thousands of millions of people as if it were a family, with mutual bonds of love as the glue that keeps the society from falling apart. People simply don't have that many friends. So if you organize a larger society you need something else: mutual respect, acknowledgement of the rights of the individual, but also a sense of solidarity. If you try to organize a large society according to principles that are appropriate for a family you don't get a large family, but a perversion: some kind of monster.”

The words went over the heads both of Sasuke and Naruto, though all in all they believed they had got much better at understanding the political discourse of Music Town than when they had just arrived. 

“What about Danzou?” Sasuke asked. “I always held him responsible for the murder of my clan, and also for the ghettoization after the kyuubi's attack.”

“That's too simple,” the Ph.D. Student said. “You're correct in that Danzou is one of the most important proponents of the idea that the village as the whole is more important than the parts, while the individuals are just like the cells of an organism that have to sacrifice themselves for the whole body if necessary. There's a big caveat however: It's not certain whether Danzou actually believes in what he proclaims, or whether he just uses other people's belief in it to remain in office to satisfy his own needs for power, wealth, importance or whatever. It's not unusual at all: Throughout history you can find examples of leaders who exploited their followers' convictions in order to stay at the top and enjoy a life in luxury, without believing in the ideology they promoted. There's others, however, who believe in what they say, and think it's everyone's, including their own, duty to sacrifice themselves for their convictions. Of course normally when push comes to shove they think that they are more important than other people, meaning it's other people's duty to sacrifice themselves, while they only have to sacrifice themselves in principle. As a rule, this kind of politician is more dangerous than the other: First because their actions are not mitigated by other, more selfish, but also more human motives, and second because their so-called idealism makes it more difficult for the population to recognize them as evil, as they can't go by common criteria as selfishness or hypocrisy.

So, well, I think that Danzou is one of those who believe in their own ideology, even though he doesn't mind that he profits from it. Still I think it's too simple to put the blame only on him: If there had not been large parts of the population who believed that the village as a whole had to take priority over the life and wellbeing of individual citizens Danzou would not have risen to power. Putting the blame all on Danzou just means that you, too, are looking for a single culprit and hope that everything would be fine if only Danzou were gone. It doesn't work like that. You would not have changed the ideology, or people's way of thinking.”

“So you think I'm not much better than Danzou?”

“I did not say that. Of course you're better than him. You're not responsible for the ghettoization and murder of a whole family. But scapegoating or the desire for simple solutions are ways of thinking we are all prone to, and we have to remain critical of ourselves not to fall into these traps.”

“So it's no one's fault, and it's just people's tendency to blame someone else for their own mistakes that caused my family's death.”

“No, of course not. Of course Danzou is responsible for the murder he ordered, and people in Konoha are responsible for scapegoating the Uchiha. It's just a tendency within all of us, and we should be aware of it, and not give in to it. It's not single individuals like Danzou who are responsible for all the evil in the world, and they should not be demonized. He could not have achieved what he did if he had not had the support of the population of Konoha.”

Sasuke swallowed. “You know, when I first heard that my brother had not turned crazy but that he had been ordered to murder our family by the administration of Konoha my first impulse was to take revenge against the whole population of Konoha. Only with time, and while I learnt how people in Music Town thought about these matters, I changed my opinion and turned my hatred only against Danzou, and my aim was to take him out of office and put him to trial. And now you say he's not the only one to blame.”

“Of course he should be put to trial,” the Ph.D.student said. “That he could not have committed his crimes without other people supporting him does not m1ea0n that he should not be held responsible for what he did. It only means that probably there's others who should be held responsible too. Though it will be difficult to put people on trial for something as vague as scapegoating your family. You can't punish them for not talking to the Uchiha. Also it's never been all the people in Konoha who ostracized them or blamed them for the defeat in the Third Ninja World War: There have always been controversies about whether or not to use the kyuubi and establish a new jinchuuriki, and public opinion on the Uchiha was split accordingly. Sometimes it were a bit more, sometimes a bit less than fifty percent who demanded that some of them should obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan, and of course, at that time the Fourth Hokage was still alive, who was against a new jinchuuriki or using the kyuubi again, and for that reason always sided with the Uchiha when they refused to kill or slay their children. Only after the kyuubi's attack the general opinion turned against your family in a way that was irreversible. It's a complicated affair,and there's no simple solutions. - But I think you need a break: it must be painful to you to hear all this.”

“It's okay,” Sasuke replied. “It's a lot, and your words sound cool, and confusing, but they are like ice on a wound: They hurt, but they stop the inflammation. They make me think. It's okay.”

“We'll have a break all the same,” the Ph.D.student replied. “It's lunch time after all.”


	137. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Four: Disenchanted

The university's canteen was in some fifteen minutes' walking distance from the department for history. While they were walking and also during lunch they avoided talking about the history of the Uchiha clan; instead the Ph.D. Student made the boys talk about their life in Music Town, and they told him that they liked the place, but Naruto also said that his heart was still in Konoha, and that he longed for the day when he could end the oppression from Danzou. Only when they had coffee Sasuke had sufficiently recovered from the emotional uproar to ask the man about the international cooperation his project was part of, and the man told him about other people's projects. Sasuke had done some reading on world history, still it welt weird to hear of other people who had suffered a similar fate as his family. The man told some horrible stories, but to Sasuke they came as a kind of relief: he was not alone, there were others like him, and also it was comforting to hear that not only in Music Town but also internationally there was a consensus that what had happened to his family was a crime.

Together they went back to the department for history, as the boys had left some of their stuff there, but it was clear that this afternoon they would not continue the interview: Sasuke had to digest what he had heard during the morning before he could talk again. Also the boys had to return to the training center. 

It was Naruto who spotted Madara standing on the sidewalk watching them. He pointed him out to Sasuke: “He must be very desperate that he approaches us in the center of town.” 

Sasuke saw him too, and like Naruto he tried to behave as if he had not noticed him. Still the Ph.D. Student had overheard their conversation: “Who are you talking about?” he asked.

“Madara. He's over there, the man with the mask. He's only observing us, so it's least risky to pretend we haven't seen him.” 

“Madara? Really? Now I see him too.”

He was definitely not a ninja, but a citizen of Music Town who did not know about fear because he did not know about danger. He looked straight at Madara, and then headed towards him. Sasuke and Naruto followed him, ready to intervene if anything should happen.

“Excuse me for approaching you like this, but I've been told that you are Uchiha Madara and if you are really him I'd like to invite you for an interview as I'm working on my dissertation on the Uchiha clan, and I need some information about what led to the final fight between you and the First Hokage in the Valley of the End, and what happened afterwards.” 

Madara was startled: the Ph.D. Student had taken him by surprise. Obviously he was not used to people who were not afraid of him. When he had overcome his confusion he turned to Sasuke: “Who is that man? What have you told him about the history of our clan?”

“Nothing,” Sasuke replied, feeling very calm suddenly. “He's an expert in his own right. He has told me a lot about the clan's history.”

“But I only know the official version, the one that was written by the victor, Hashirama,” the Ph.D.student said. “It would be absolutely spectacular if I could turn up with a different perspective on events.”

Madara was still confused, and he still chose to ignore the young historian. “What business do you have with a man who meddles with the affair of our clan?” he asked Sasuke. “And why are you still lingering around in Music Town instead of avenging our clan?” 

“He does not meddle,” Sasuke replied. “He's very clever and he has done a lot of research. He'll help me with my new plan: to make Danzou's crimes public so that the whole ninja world knows about him. It will be the end of his days as Hokage.”

“So you have given up on killing him, and you've forsaken your plan to take revenge against the population of Konoha.”

Sasuke had to think before he came up with what he thought was an adequate response: “The people of Konoha are sufficiently punished by having to live under Danzou's rule.”

“Really I need to talk to you,” the Ph.D.Student again joined the conversation. “I need to know about your relationship with the rest of the clan at the time of the foundation of Konoha, and I need to know about your role in the peace negotiations with the Senju Clan. What was your reaction when your clan told you that they would not nominate you as head of the delegation?” 

Again Madara looked startled. It took him a couple of seconds to answer the question: “I was not interested in peace anyway. I did not care about being part of the delegation.”

“Why weren't you interested in peace?” Naruto asked. “Did you not offer me peace just a short time ago if I were ready to give my consent to Killerbee's death?” 

Madara took some thirty seconds before he answered to Naruto. “That was a different kind of peace. The peace I offered you was the real thing. The peace between Senju and Uchiha was but a fake.”

Just like Sasuke Naruto felt very calm suddenly. Madara could not tempt him any more.

“But still you supported the negotiations, didn't you?” the Ph.D. Student said. 

“I was head of my clan, and it was my duty to support them and to work for their wellbeing, even if I considered their dreams of peace with the Senju Clan ultimately foolish.”

“So did they make you step down from your position when you disagreed to their plans to negotiate a peace treaty with the Senju? Did you step down from your own accord? Or did they only name the head of the delegation the new head of clan when the negotiations started, to add to his authority and give him a better standing in negotiations? And how did the controversies among the Uchiha continue when the negotiations ended? Did those who had opposed the negotiations drop their objections when they saw that they had ended with a success? Were you the only one who retained his original position and continued to distrust the Senju?” 

Sasuke thought it was a pity that the man did not know when to stop, and that he had never participated in any interrogation training. He wished he could tell him that a good interrogator might hint at what he knew about the person he was interrogating, but that he'd never display the full extent of his knowledge. If the Ph.D. Student had been more perceptive and less eager to get a positive answer to his request for an interview, he might have seen what Sasuke saw: that Madara took too long to answer his question. Sasuke would have liked to see the expression on his face beneath his mask: even the way Madara moved showed that he was in trouble. 

“I always distrusted Senju,” he finally said. “I always knew that they were our enemies and would always remain so, and that the so-called reconciliation was but a fake. I refused to participate in that farce.” 

“You know, I need to know about this because I need to know about the history of the tensions between Senju and Uchiha. I need to know whether there were people in the clan who remained loyal to you, and who retained the distrust towards Senju.”

“There were none. They were all fools! They did not see the danger Senju posed to us. I alone did not drop my guard. I alone did not forget that wood and fire will never be friends.”

He turned to Sasuke. “You should remember this too. Fire and wood will stay enemies for enternity. There will not be friendship between you and a man who's descended from Senju.”

On former occasions Sasuke had felt irritated and scared when he had met Madara. This time he only felt irritated, and also a bit angry. 

“He's my lover, not my friend,” he said. “I told you already. You should accept and remember it.”

Naruto wondered whether Sasuke would dare to kiss him while Madara was watching. He would not, he thought: They needed to have an eye on Madara, after all. Then Sasuke kissed him all the same, though only on the cheek, trusting that Naruto would not drop his guard.

“Wait,” Naruto said. “My name's Uzumaki, not Senju, and my father wasn't from the Senju Clan either.” 

“The Uzumaki were related to Senju,” Madara continued. “They intermarried frequently. Didn't you know this?” 

“No,” Naruto replied flatly. “I think you're making this up in order to drive us apart.”

Madara didn't respond, but turned to Sasuke again.

“Nothing good will come from such a connection, just as nothing good came from the alliance between Senju and Uchiha that led to the foundation of Konoha. It's beyond your choice, and beyond your personal feelings. Senju and Uchiha have always been enemies and will always be. They've been enemies since the days of the Rikudo.”

“What's the Rikudo got to do with it?” Naruto asked. 

“It were his followers who split up after the Rikudo's death, led by his own sons. They turned against each other, struggling for power and dominance, and both claimed the right to lead the Rikudo's followers, those who later became the heads of the ninja clans.”

Madara was less confused now than when he had talked to the Ph.D. Student, Sasuke thought, but he was still far from scary. He also felt that Naruto was not impressed at all.

“I've read about the followers of the Rikudo,” he said. “After the Rikudo's death there were a lot of conflicts concerning the correct interpretation of the texts he had left them. A couple of schools were established then, which perceived each other as rivals. The Rikudo's sons became heads of these schools, even though originally they had little to do with the Rikudo's teachings. He had left them when they were small kids, and never saw them again in his life.”

“The Rikudo had children and abandoned them?” Sasuke said, rather shocked, forgetting that they were talking to Madara.

Naruto did not forget it. He kept watching him, ready to fight if this should become necessary.

“They were raised as princes and their mother and their grandparents cared well for them. He could not take them with him when he travelled to the ninja countries in order to become a wandering priest. There's some scholars, mainly women, who criticize him for this.”

“They're correct,” Sasuke said. “He should have stayed with his kids – you don't plan to leave me to become some kind of wandering priest too, do you`” 

“I don't,” Naruto said, caressing Sasuke's shoulder and his back. He had to keep an eye on Madara, as Sasuke seemed to be distracted. “The Rikudo's sons did not think highly of their father as he had deserted them, and also they could not understand why he had given up life in a place for a life on the roads. After his death, however, when they learnt that in the ninja countries he had become famous they followed him and became heads of two rivalling schools. They were received with open arms, simply because they were the Rikudo's sons, but they had no idea about his message. They managed to get along, and to keep at bay conflicts about the interpretation of the Rikudo's teachings, simply because they did not take any interest in the interpretation of his message, but their children broke up because of some argument about financial issues. Their followers got annoyed with them, they lost their position as heads of their various schools, and the office became non-hereditary.”

Sasuke listened to him, not knowing whether to believe his ears. Naruto noticed this, and smiled smugly: “You're not the only one who has been reading a lot of history books.”

He continued his story: “Only when the civil war started that ruined the continent in the course of fifty years the schools broke down. The Rikudo's teachings were forgotten except for a few small schools in the mountains or on some island that were not destroyed during the war, and some texts only survived in the Rikudo's home country. In the ninja countries themselves, only his chakra-forging techniques and the memory of the Rikudo's supernatural powers were preserved. They forgot that the true content of his message had been inner and outer peace,and only remembered him as a hero who fought monsters and tyrants. It's what happened in quite a few religions, which is why we need new priests and teachers and prophets every now and then.”

“You don't intend to become one of them,” Sasuke said. “You stay with me!” 

“I stay with you,” Naruto said, still looking at Madara. “The Rikudo's sons have nothing to do with Sasuke or me. We won't split up because of them.”

Again he caressed Sasuke's hips and his back. There was a broad smile on his face. Sasuke feared he'd drop his guard, so he was more on his alert himself now.

“Senju and Uchiha are the fundamental forces of the universe,” Madara made a desperate attempt to gain the upper hand again. “They're order and chaos, they're the forces of destruction and the forces that create something new from the debris. They won't mix, and if they do, history will come to a standstill.”

“That's some natural mythology that's been mixed into the ninshuu religion while it got turned into ninjutsu,” Naruto explained. “It's got nothing to do with the original teachings of the Rikudo. There's no reason why Sasuke and I shouldn't be lovers.”

Madara seemed at a loss: he had run out of stories. Sasuke laid his hand on his wrist, ready to grip it firmly if necessary. It was as he had expected: Madara did not fight, he did not even try to escape using his space-time ninjutsu. Nonetheless Sasuke activated his Sharingan, just to make sure he could detect any technique Madara was going to employ. “It's over,” he said. “You won't be able to separate Naruto and me, nor to tempt me with any power you offer. No one listens to your stories. You lost your power.”

“You should be more respectful. I still provide over Madara's power.”

“So you aren't Madara, but only provide over his power?” the Ph.D Student said. “I guessed so. You pretended that you refused to participate in negotiations with the Senju clan. Madara however participated in them, though not as head of his delegation. You can find his signature on the final treaty, and it's also documented in the protocols.”

“You should give up,” Sasuke said. “You can't even use your space-time-ninjutsu any more, as there's nowhere you can teleport to. You should offer yourself to the police of Music Town. Here you'll get a fair trial. If the forces of the Ninja Countries find you in your base they'll simply kill you.”


	138. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Five: Ordinary Parents

Sasuke felt the man who had pretended to be Madara lose all tension – he mentally gave up. Without offering any resistance he allowed himself to be led to the next police-station, where the officers in charge started to interrogate him. They were not used, however, to people who refused to answer the initial questions about name, address and date of birth. 

“I am no one, and I live nowhere,” the man said. “I have no identity, and I don't belong to any single town or country. My purpose is to turn the earth from the course of destruction it has taken, and to set it back on its true path. My purpose is to restore the powers of nature, chaos and order, life and death, creation and destruction, to their rightful position. I am no person. I am an agent of the world as it should be, and I live everywhere.” 

The officer shook her head. “I did not ask you to tell me about your plans about the world. I only need your name and address. Also I have to advise you that everything you tell me beyond your name, address and date of birth may be used against you, so you should think twice before you inform us about your plans. So what's your name?”

“I am no one. I don't have a name.”

“He called himself Madara,” Sasuke said, trying to be of help.

“Uchiha Madara?” 

“Yes.” 

“Uchiha Madara has been dead for more than eighty years. Well, psychopaths often call themselves after historical rebels. It makes them feel greater than they are.”

She turned again to the man who had pretended to be Madara. “So now you tell us your name, or we will not only call our superiors but also a psychiatrist.”

Another woman, who had been sitting behind her desk until now, stood up and approached the group with a clipboard in her hands. “We need to talk to you, too,” she said. “You need to tell us what happened, and why you considered it necessary to bring the man with you. You first!”

Sasuke went with her and told her what had just happened, and also he told her about previous encounters with the masked man and most importantly that the man was the head of Akatsuki. After him, Naruto and the Ph.D.Student were interviewed. Luckily by the time when all of them had given testimony of what had happened some of the police people who had been watching over Sasuke and Naruto these last weeks had arrived at the police-station too and gave their account of what had happened, and as it was in accordance with the stories Sasuke, Naruto and the Ph.D.Student had told they were allowed to leave. 

“I'm sorry that this happened,” Sasuke said when they parted. “You are probably not used to meeting powerful ninja from ancient times.” 

“No need to apologize,” the Ph.D.Student answered. “I got you into that situation after all. And in the end he wasn't a powerful ninja from ancient times, but just a megalomaniac manipulative psychopath. Now I have to return to my dissertation. I hope to see you some other day: Both of you.” 

“I hope so too,” Sasuke said. “I still need to know more about your book.”

“I also need to meet you,” Naruto added. “I have a lot of questions too.” 

Being a practically-minded person the Ph.D.student insisted that they made an appointment, then they parted. 

Both Sasuke and Naruto were silent on their way home, deeply lost in their thoughts. Sasuke spoke first: 

“So what Itachi told me was not true in the end,” he said.

“What did he tell you?” Naruto asked.

“He said that for generations the Uchiha murdered their friends and blinded their siblings. He said that for generations the clan's fate was drenched in blood, and that corpses were piled up on its path. But it's not true. It's only Madara and a few of his followers who murdered their friends and blinded their siblings: Most people refused to do this and they were glad when the practice was stopped.”

“Did he really tell you this? Did he really believe it?” 

“Yes. He told me to kill my best friend, that is you, in order to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, and he wanted me to take his eyes. And I was stupid enough to believe him.”

He laid his arm around Naruto, making clear that he was glad that he had not followed Itachi's advice. 

“I was twelve: I was not able to see through Itachi's lies.” 

He looked now at his younger self the way people in Music Town looked at children: Still thinking that what he had done was wrong, but without hating hismelf for it. He had been a child: he would have needed help.

Naruto no longer felt any anger either. He was ready to regard twelve-year-old Sasuke as a child, and judge him as a child. “But did Itachi believe that your clan really committed all these crimes?”

Sasuke considered it. “Maybe he did. Maybe this was what people told him in order to murder our clan. If they were all evil, and drenched in blood, he'd do the world a favour if the killed them. It would be a way to cut his bonds to his own clan, he would not be a member of the Uchiha family any more. It did not work, and what they told him was not true.”

“Did you believe it to be true?”

“I was in doubt all the time. I hoped it wasn't true, but I did not have any proof. I knew so little about the history of my clan. Now I am glad that in the Uchiha clan murdering your friends and blinding your siblings was the exception, not the rule. Under Madara they forgot that it was a crime, but, well: the Uchiha were not better than other people, but not worse either: There were criminals among them, but not all of them were criminals, and at the time of the massacre the killing and blinding had stopped. They didn't deserve to die. I don't deserve to die.”

“You certainly don't deserve to die,” Naruto replied.

“My parents would not have wanted me to sacrifice my life and happiness for the sake of the clan. They would have wanted me to live happily, to continue the clan, and to restore the clan's honour by living honourably.”

“Definitely.”

“They were just like ordinary parents. They were like parents in Music Town.”

Naruto was silent. He was hardly able to follow Sasuke's words; he was busy with his own thoughts. “My father was was not like that,” he said. “He was ready to sacrifice me, and to seal the kyuubi into me.”

“He was pressured to do it,” Sasuke replied. “He did not want it. The population of Konoha wanted him to sacrifice you, or at least part of the population, and in the end he had to give in. He had no choice. If he had had a choice he would not have sealed the kyuubi into you, and he would have seen to it that he survived so that he could have raised you himself.”

“He could have refused.”

“Maybe. He would have had to leave Konoha then, and to raise you elsewhere.”

“Leaving Konoha might not have been that bad, actually.”

“He could not imagine it, I guess. He could not imagine forsaking the people of Konoha, even though they pressured him to sacrifice his own child. He sincerely believed he had no choice but to sacrifice himself, and you.”

He felt that Naruto was not content, so he continued to talk: “He did not want to seal the kyuubi into you. He loved you. He was not a bad man. He was like Itachi: he found himself in a situation where there was no good way out.”

He felt that his words did not reach Naruto. When they arrived at their place he made Naruto sit down on the sofa, he prepared him some tea, then he sat down next to him and made him rest his head on his shoulder, and then even lean his head against his chest, while Sasuke held him like a little child. 

“We'll manage,” he said. “We've tamed the kyuubi, and we've got Madara arrested. We found people who care.”

With time Naruto calmed down and began to return Sasuke's caresses. He remembered how as a child he had dreamt of being the Yondaime's son, and how this dream had kept him going when he had felt lonely and desperate, but now that the dream had become true there was the problem that his own father had been ready to sacrifice him, and no matter how much he tried, he could not reconcile himself with this fact. There was no way back to his former innocence.

The next morning they were called to the head of the police's office again. He congratulated them to finally arresting Madara, or the man who had pretended to be Madara, but he also told them off for taking such a great risk. 

“We didn't,” Sasuke said. “We are powerful ninja after all. And the man only pretended to be Madara.”

The head of the police shrugged. “He's behind prison bars now, and you got out of the confrontation without being hurt, so everything is fine. We have made another attempt to interrogate him, but he still refuses to tell his name. He loves to talk about his ideas, however: he thinks that the whole world is rotten and that he will destroy it and rebuild it from scratch according to his ideas. We are still not certain whether he is a case for the judiciary system or rather for forensic psychiatry. We've lost one interrogator, however: she tried to explain to us why the man's ideas actually make sense, and why it was a good thing that finally someone dared to say this. We could not talk her out of it. He also still refuses to take off his mask, and this afternoon we will discuss how long we will wait until we take it from him by force. Zetsu and Kisame have already said that they recognize the man, so it's confirmed that he's the head of Akatsuki. Maybe we will need you later again to confirm his identity too, and to act as witnesses.”

“I have once seen his face without his mask, so maybe I can be of help there too.”

“We'll come back to it. In any case, we'll keep you informed about the progress we make.”

“I've another request,” Sasuke said. “But I don't want to discuss it in front of Naruto.”

“Well, then... But remember: love does not thrive when you hide important facts from your partner.” 

“This is the other kind of secret.”

“If you say so...” The head of the police looked at Naruto. “I guess you'll have to wait outside.”


	139. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six: Flutes and Woodpipes

Naruto waited anxiously outside. He did not like the idea of Sasuke having secrets, and discussing something with the head of the police which he, Naruto, was not allowed to hear. When Sasuke returned after some ten minutes that had appeared like an eternity to him he asked him what he had discussed with the head of the police. Of course Sasuke refused to answer. 

“I'll tell you tomorrow,” he said. 

“They were allowed to go on patrol again, and had to separate for this, as they were still being teamed with more experienced colleagues. For both of them it was a weird experience: for several weeks they had been with each other for almost every minute, mostly out of fear of Madara, and now they had to part again. 

They also went home on their own, and Sasuke returned unusually late. 

“Where have you been?” Naruto asked. 

“I needed to organize a few things, and I went shopping.”

“What did you organize, and what did you buy?” 

“I'll tell you later,” Sasuke replied, getting up to prepare dinner. Naruto was not content with this answer, but Sasuke would not tell him more. He saw Naruto's restlessness and tried to calm him down by caressing his cheeks and tousling his hair. It didn't work: Naruto remained troubled, and though they tried to behave as if everything was normal Sasuke could tell that Naruto's thoughts continued to return to what Sasuke wouldn't tell him. 

“Have patience,” he said. “Everything will be told in due time. Just trust me.”

“How shall I trust you if you keep being secretive? Nothing good came from this before.”

“This time it will be different. Believe me!” 

Again Sasuke caressed Naruto's cheeks and hair and kissed him. 

“I just wished that you could be with me all the time,” Naruto said.

Sasuke was actually quite relieved that now they could move around separately again, and that he no longer needed to worry that Madara might abduct Naruto. There were a couple of things he needed to do by himself.

“Trust me: I didn't attempt to kill anyone, nor did I enter an alliance with a rogue nin.”

Silently Naruto admitted to himself that both these possibilities were highly unlikely.

Sasuke kissed him again, and caressed his cheeks and his neck and shoulders, and then Naruto gave in: he'd trust Sasuke, they'd have sex, he'd let Sasuke be the active partner. (These days he always was the active partner. Both of them felt that Sasuke needed to catch up in that respect. Also they had no idea whether they might be able to achieve the feeling of being one if they switched roles.)

It was difficult even as it was, and when they had finished Naruto was rather sad than happy.

“I wish you were with me all the time,” he said. “I wish you wouldn't leave me any more.” 

“I won't,” Sasuke replied, wondering why Naruto was acting in such a stupid way.

The next day when Naruto thought they were going to the training center Sasuke dragged him to the head quarter of the police instead, and there he led him to one of the offices on the ground floor.

“What are you doing? We'll be late for class!” Naruto said. 

Sasuke shook his head. “I've made arrangements for a day off.”

“A day off? What for?” 

“You'll see. You'll like it.”

They could not continue arguing, as the door of the office opened and they were called inside. Sasuke told his name, and also that he had come for a permission to leave Music Town.

“A permission to leave Music Town? I thought you liked it here. Also, why do you think you can decide a matter like this without asking me for my opinion?”

“It's only for a day,” Sasuke replied. “It's just because we are still refugees and not citizens of Music Town we still need a special permission to leave the town.”

Naruto was still not content.

“It's to visit a village nearby that politically belongs to Music Town. You'll like it,” Sasuke explained while he signed the receipt for the permission.

They left the building and Sasuke produced a map from his backpack. He looked up the way to the village he wanted to visit, and he also let Naruto have a look into the map. Naruto was glad that now at least he knew the name of the village, and he refused to return the map to Sasuke but took it upon himself to find the best way. He still had no idea why Sasuke wanted to go there, but he had understood that Sasuke would not tell him.

He enjoyed the walk to the village though. They had to walk through some quarters of Music Town they had never seen before, and when they had left the town they enjoyed the view of golden fields and blue sky. They did not pass through any woods, so that they could not jump from tree to tree but had to walk, but they enjoyed the exercise all the same. After about an hour's walk they were in view of their destination. 

Sasuke took some brochure from his backpack. It contained the address of the place he wanted to visit, but even before he had unfolded it Naruto had spotted it himself: “Uzumaki flutes and woodpipes,” he read on a huge sign on one of the buildings around the place at the center of the village.

“So this was it,” he said. “Why didn't you tell me?” 

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Sasuke replied.

He straightened and headed to the building in question. Naruto felt a bit embarrassed: he had not planned to visit the place, and he feared that Sasuke might get them into an embarrassing situation again.

The building looked too big for a workshop and too small for a factory. It had a shop attached to it, and after having looked into the shop window for some time, which indeed displayed flutes and woodpipes, but also clarinets, oboes and bassons and even a couple of instruments made from metal, Sasuke entered the shop, dragging Naruto with him. 

Sasuke took it upon himself to do the talking. He had gained confidence by now, knowing that he still appeared more awkward than Naruto, but certain that he would be able to make himself understood and, if possible, get what he wanted. So it was him who answered the shop assistant when she asked them whether she could help them.

“It's about my friend,” he said. “his family name is Uzumaki, but he has never heard of any relatives of his. He has never met another person who was called Uzumaki. We thought we might find some relatives here, or at least news of his relatives. Are you an Uzumaki too?”

“No, I just work here. I'll call my boss, however.”

She went into the shop's backroom and returned with an elderly woman.

“That's him,” she said, pointing at him. 

“So you're an Uzumaki looking for other Uzumakis,” the older woman said. “Won't you come with me?”

Sasuke and Naruto followed her through the back room, through a workshop with a lot of instruments that needed to be repaired, and through an office to a place that looked like a living-room.

“Sit down, I'll prepare tea for you,” she said. 

“My friend was never told that there are any other Uzumakis in the world,” Sasuke said when she returned to the table. “He always believed he was the only one.”

“There's lots of them,” the woman answered. “Half the village is called Uzumaki, and works for Uzumaki flutes and woodpipes. Where are you from?” 

“Konoha,” Naruto answered. 

“There's no other Uzumakis in Konoha,” Sasuke added. 

“So you think you might be related to us?” 

“I have no idea,” Naruto answered.

“He's probably named after his mother,” Sasuke explained.

“What was her given name then?” 

“I have no idea. I have nothing but my family name. It was my friend's idea to come here. I don't want to cause any trouble.”

“It's okay. I think there's a branch of the family that moved to Fire Country. I'll fetch my sister-in-law, she'll know more about them. I was not born an Uzumaki, you see, I just married into the clan.”

She left. Naruto leant against Sasuke. “You should have warned me,” he said. He had no idea what to make of all this.

The woman returned. “My sister-in-law tells us to come to her place,” she said.

The sister-in-law was ten or even twenty years older than the first woman. She lived quite near: in a very small apartment in the attic of one of the workshops. She too prepared tea for her visitors.

“So you're an Uzumaki from Konoha,” she said. 

“Yes,” Naruto said, realizing that he had to speak for himself now, and that he could not leave this to Sasuke any more. 

“And you're looking for relatives...” 

“My friend thinks I should look for relatives. He brought me here.” 

“A cousin of ours moved to the capital of Fire Country where they worked for the family, selling instruments and buying raw materials. One of their granddaughters moved to Konoha after marrying a man from the village. So what's your mother's name?” 

“I have no idea,” Naruto answered again. “I was never told anything about her. I was never told anything about my father either, and it never came to my mind to ask about them.”

“But you're certain that you yourself are an Uzumaki?” 

“Yes: here's my ID if you want to see it.”

“It's okay... You know, it's a sad story for us, and we are a bit afraid of spies.”

“We aren't spies. My name is really Uzumaki, and I fled from Konoha myself. Both of us fled from Konoha, actually.”

“Our cousins never heard that their granddaughter expected a child. They would have told us if they had. We were always in close contact. They have died, but we are still in contact with their children. They lost contact with their daughter some time after her marriage, allegedly because of safety issues. No contact to people outside the village, not even close relatives as parents. So this is maybe why they had no idea they were expecting a grandchild. Do you want to see some photos?” 

“Yes.” 

Naruto did not know what else to say. While the woman searched for the albums he pressed Sasuke's hand so hard that he hurt him, but Sasuke bore the pain without complaint. When the woman returned they made room for her so that she could sit between them.

“This is my cousin with his wife in front of their new shop,” she said. “They had just married when they moved to Fire Country. Here they are again, and here they are with their first child.”

There were a couple of pictures showing both parents with the child in their arms, and then the child growing older and taller.

“Here's pictures of the next child,” the woman said, “and here's the third child: This would be your grandfather, if you are who we believe you are.”

The grandfather was a baby on his mother's arms, and then a toddler between his older siblings. A fourth child joined them, and a lot of pictures showing all four children playing, or sitting with their parents. On every photo the woman pointed out his grandfather to Naruto, and Naruto was glad becasue he was not really interested in his grandfather's siblings.

That's him on his wedding day,” she said. “Your mother was a beautiful bride.” 

She got another photo album which contained pictures of the young couple and their children. The one they believed to be Naruto's mother was the youngest. The woman showed them pictures of her as a baby on her mother's arm, as a toddler on her father's shoulders, as a schoolgirl and a teenager.

“She was really cute, wasn't she?” the woman said. 

She had really been a cute baby and a cute toddler, Naruto thought, but he was not much interested in these pictures. He wanted to see pictures that showed his mother as a young woman.

The old woman sensed Naruto's impatience. She quickly turned the pictures that showed her older brothers, until they arrived again at some that showed the girl they believed to be Naruto's mother. She was older now, about the age Naruto himself was now, and she looked really pretty on those pictures. She went to some college.

“We wanted her to learn to make flutes herself,” the woman said. “but she preferred to start training as a management executive. And then she met that young ninja from Konoha whom she married.”

The last photos were photos of the wedding. Naruto stared at them, unable to say a word.

“Look how she's beaming! She was a happy bride! And so young and beautiful!” 

“I've never seen any photos of my mother,” Naruto said when he could speak again. “But I've seen lots of pictures of my father. He was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.”

“So you think it's really her?” The woman asked, finally understanding how much this moment meant to Naruto.

Naruto nodded.

“We never got any other photos,” the woman continued. “A few months after the wedding contact was cut off. My cousin's son never heard what happened to her. Only a few years later he and his wife wrote to the administration for news of her, and then they heard that she had died. They never knew they had a grandson.”

It took Naruto some minutes to process the information.

“You mean I have grandparents who are still alive?”

“Yes.”

“Grandparents who would have taken me in if they had known of my existence, so that I would not have been raised in an orphanage?” 

“Probably.”

Naruto considered it. “I would not have been raised as a ninja,” he said. “My father was a ninja, you know.”

“Your grandparents are in the flutes and woodpipes business. Your grandfather repairs instruments, your grandmother works as an accountant and secretary.”

Being a ninja had become part of Naruto's identity. It was hard to imagine himself as a maker of flutes and clarinets instead.

“You can't work as a ninja if you work in Music Town,” the woman said. “What are you doing anyway? Still going to school?” 

“I'm training to be a policeman. Though what I like best is a project with difficult kids I work at on Friday afternoon, so maybe I'll quit being a policeman and become a social worker instead.”

“That's an honourable occupation,” the woman said. “Your grandparents would be glad to hear it.”

Naruto considered it. Something else came to his mind: His grandparents would not have been able to deal with the kyuubi. They could not have raised him. 

“I have another question,” he said. “I have heard that the Senju clan that co-founded Konoha is somehow related to the Uzumaki clan. Is that true?” 

“Senju, the clan that has the power to make dead wood come to life again?” 

“Yes.”

“Some of them married into our clan at the time before the ninja villages were founded. It's said that because of this our instruments, most of which are made out of wood, sound as if they were alive.”


	140. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven: Living Wood

The woman suggested they'd take a look around the manufactory, and when the boys agreed she showed them around and let them have a look at the various instruments and showed them how they were made. She not only made them look, but also listen: she was able to play almost all the instruments her family produced, not like a virtuoso of course, but she was able to play a small melody on each of them.

She let the boys have a try too, and they discovered that it was quite difficult even to play a single note, even though the woman did her best to explain them how to do it. Naruto felt hurt that Sasuke was better at it, even though he didn't care about music. 

“I care about music too,” Sasuke replied. “It's just that most music is too loud. One instrument at a time is okay, however.”

“But playing with others is the soul of music,” the woman said. They walked on, and finally, when they came to the clarinets, Naruto was able to play some notes that sounded as if they might be turned into music. Sasuke failed completely. 

“You want to learn how to move your fingers?” the woman asked.

“Yes,” Naruto replied, and she showed him how to play a scale. The highest notes sounded like a cat squeaking in pain, but the woman smiled at him all the same and told him that he did extremely well, given that he was holding a clarinet in his hands for the first time in his life.

She took the instrument and played herself again, improvising some strange melody. 

“It sounds like a person singing,” Naruto said. “And then the person is laughing, and crying, or simply talking, and then again singing. With the other instruments it's just notes.” 

“Don't tell my brother. He's a wonderful oboist. But this is what I meant when I told you that our instruments are alive. Of course it also takes a good musician to make other people hear that they're alive. You want to have another go?”

Naruto tried again, and imitating the woman he made the notes sound like music, turning the scale into a simple melody. 

“You have talent,” the woman said. “You're a real Uzumaki.”

She beamed, and Naruto smiled. He felt a bit weird, but he liked the instrument.

“I might suggest it to my band,” he said. 

“You play in a band? I know, that's what young people do nowadays. They no longer take any interest in more traditional musical formations. I'll show you an instrument that's better suited to a band than a clarinet.” 

She took an alto saxophone from the wall. “It's not made of wood, but it still sounds as if it was alive.” 

She played, and with astonishment Naruto heard that the saxophone was even more expressive than the clarinet. 

“I used to be able to play the bigger ones too,” she said. “But now I am too old for that. You want to give it a try?” 

Naruto tried, but the note he managed to play sounded as if someone was burping.

“You'll learn it quickly when you've mastered the clarinet,” the woman said. “Just take your time.” 

Sasuke did not even try the saxophone. He watched Naruto's fascination with the instrument and was happy seeing that Naruto was happy.

They moved on, and the woman showed them more instruments: trumpets and trombones. She could not play them, so she had to use a CD to show the boys how they sounded. In the last room there there were instruments that were not played by blowing into them. One of them had the form of a triangle, and a lot of strings. Carefully the woman plucked them, and Sasuke and Naruto did the same. 

Producing nice sounds was much easier with this instrument than with wind instruments, but of course this was no music yet. In order to produce music you needed to practice hard, same as with every other instrument. So in order to show the boys how the instrument sounded when played by an expert the woman again had to take recourse to a CD. 

“I like that,” Sasuke said. “It sounds like rain and like wind and sometimes like a thunderstorm.”

“It sounds random,” Naruto replied. 

“I like it,” Sasuke repeated. “I don't want music to sound like a human being. Do you sell the CD here? I've never heard anything like this in town.”

“You can hear it every time the rain hits our window panes,” Naruto said. 

“It's not the same. There's patterns: I can hear them. I can't hear any patterns in music that's just loud. May I at least write down the title of the CD so that I can buy it in town? I'd really like to, because at the moment it's only Naruto who owns all the CDs at home, and it's only him who decides which kind of music we hear.”

“It's not my fault you don't even care what music we are dancing to. But there's enough rain in Music Town, if that's what you prefer.”

“You may take the CD as a present,” the woman said. “We'll buy a new one.”

She turned to Naruto again. “We can have another look at the clarinet,” she said.

This time Naruto managed to play a full scale, and the notes began to sound good.

“Now you really show that you're one of us,” the woman said again. 

Naruto smiled. 

He was deeply in thoughts when they walked home. Sasuke, however, felt light-hearted: because the excursion had turned out really well, and because he had finally found some music he enjoyed.

“Did you plan all this?” Naruto asked when the first houses of Music Town appeared.

Sasuke shook his head. “Not in detail. I planned the visit to the village, but I had no idea what might happen there.”

In the evening they stood again in front of the shrine Sasuke had built, looking at his family's photo. This time however Naruto did not lean against him, but just held his hand.

“I have grandparents who are still alive,” he said. “They'd probably be happy to hear of my existence. and they were probably sad when they heard that their daughter had died.”

“I guess so,” Sasuke said. 

“They would not have wanted her sacrificed, nor me,” Naruto continued. 

Sasuke felt weird. He had always felt generous towards Naruto, letting him share those moments when he thought of his family, knowing that Naruto had even less than himself: no photos, no memories. Now it had turned out that Naruto had actually more: He had family who were still alive. He could contact them.

“Maybe your father's parents are still alive too,” he said. “You should ask Sakura to inquire after them.”

He still had something Naruto did not have and never would have: Conscious memories of his parents when they were still alive.

So now Naruto knew what Sasuke had wanted to discuss with the head of the police without him, Naruto, listening, but he still had no idea what he had bought when he had been shopping on his own, and why he kept doing things on his own, refusing to tell him, Naruto. By now Naruto somehow trusted him that he was not going to attack anyone, or form an alliance with some criminal rogue nin, but some other, more civilian suspicion crept up in his mind. 

“The guy from Earth Country saw you with his husband,” he said when again Sasuke had announced that he wanted to go shopping, and that he did not want Naruto to join him.

“He helps me with my shopping,” Sasuke explained. 

“Why him? Why not me?” 

“You'll understand in a few days. Just have some patience.” 

“So in a few days you will tell me that you're going to leave me and live with him instead.”

“What?” 

“You'll tell me that you're no longer in love with me, but with him. You like him, don't you?”

“He's a good friend of mine. He's a good friend of yours, too. But I am not in love with him.”

“The guy from Earth Country says you are having sex with him.”

“What?” 

Naruto shrugged. 

“We go shopping, but we don't have sex. Why should I have sex with him when every evening I have sex with you?” 

“The guy from Earth Country told me that his husband is always beaming when he returns from your so-called shopping tour. He looks content and relaxed in those moments, quite different from this usual behaviour when the two of them are together nowadays.”

“If his husband enjoys going shopping with me more than having sex with him it's their problem, not ours. Really, you may trust me: I don't plan to leave you. My thoughts are always with you, even when my body is not.”

“I wished your body was with me all the time too.”

“You'll understand soon. Just wait for a few days, then everything will be revealed.”

He kissed Naruto: not just on his lips, but making certain that their tongues met too. He caressed Naruto's lips and shoulderblades, and both of them got a bit aroused. Sasuke broke off the kiss.

“I need to go now. I have an appointment. In two hours I'll be back.”

He kissed Naruto again, but only his lips. 

“Then go shopping, if going shopping with someone else is more fun than kissing me.”

Sasuke looked hurt, but he did not answer. He was really late by now.

Naruto stayed behind. He knew he was acting irrationally – he knew that the rational thing to do was to wait for a couple of days, and then to remind Sasuke of his promise that everything would be in the open by then. He just could not wait: he was not used any more to Sasuke not being at his side. 

He tried to read, but he could not focus on his books. His thoughts kept returning to Sasuke, checking whether there were any signs that he was really in love with someone else, that he really had ceased to love Naruto as he used to love him. There were of course these shopping-tours, but there was also their love-making in the evenings, their were all those small signs of affection when they had breakfast or when they went to the training center, and then there was their dancing. Sasuke had become more extroverted now, he was more playful and even flirted with Naruto, knowing that his secretiveness irritated him, and making fun of him because of this, but even though he made fun of him, it still seemed that he loved him. His dancing was better than ever, only that Naruto was not as good as usual because he kept thinking what Sasuke did when he pretended to go shopping. 

Naruto returned to his book: It was an interpretation of the Rikudo's ideas on peace, which he had got in the library. Naruto found the book difficult to read: his eyes moved along the lines, the words formed sounds in his head, but he did not manage to make them form sentences, and even if the did, the sentences did not make sense, both because the text was difficult and because Naruto was not able to focus properly on that day. 

When he looked up there was Fukasaku sitting on the window-sill.

“You are still lingering around in this place,” he said. “You are still wasting your time.”

Naruto did not have an answer. “You're sitting here, reading and dreaming when you should act.”

“I read about the Rikudo,” Naruto replied.

“You don't need to know his writings in all detail. It's more important that you make his dream come true.”

“I may still learn from him. I'm supposed to follow his path, aren't I?”

“You're supposed to find your own path towards peace. You're the child of destiny after all. You have the capacity to do it. It's your duty to do it. But you won't do it while you are wasting your time in Music Town.”

Naruto did not answer. Suddenly what he did in Music Twon and what he learnt in Music Town seemed all shale and hollow to him.

“Sasuke needs me,” he said. “He likes this place. He learns to be a policeman in order to continue his family's tradition. It's his way of taking revenge.”

“It's his tradition, not yours,” Fukasaku replied. “You have no business with the police.”

Naruto knew that this was true. He liked going on patrol and part of what he learnt was interesting, but his heart was not in it, not as Sasuke's was. 

“Your destiny is not to be a policeman. Your destiny is to bring peace to the world.”

Again Naruto did not answer.

“You waste your time learning stuff you don't need to know.”

“Sasuke needs me,” Naruto said again. “If it had not been for me he would have left Music Town just a day after his arrival, or even on the day of his arrival. He would have continued this search for a place that does not exist, and when he had finally admitted to himself that his search was futile he would have turned against Konoha to avenge his family. He has found peace in Music Town.”

“He may have found peace, but you haven't. The peace Music Town offers to your cannot satisfy you. You need to bring peace to the whole world.”

“But Sasuke needs be here,” Naruto repeated now for the third time. 

“He does not need you. He has gone shopping without you. He has found friends of his own here. He's planning his career as a policeman. He does not need you: if you leave him now in order to fulfill your destiny and create peace between the ninja countries he won't leave and take revenge against Konoha: he will stay in Music Town, he'll continue his training, he will let his new friends comfort him, and with time, he will find a new lover.”

Naruto had to admit to himself that this was probably true. Maybe Sasuke had already found himself a new lover. Maybe having to stick with each other while Madara (or the man who had pretended to be Madara) had been around had been too much for Sasuke. Maybe he had had too much of him, Naruto, during that time.

“Sasuke does not need you. He has found peace in Music Town, and a career that means a lot to him, and also a bunch of new friends. The world needs you, however: the world is not at peace.”

Naruto considered it. Probably Fukasaku was correct: Sasuke could do without him, but the world still needed to be saved. Maybe he was really wasting his time. Coming to think of it, none of his activities in Music Town gave him much satisfaction.

The door bell rang. Naruto wondered who it might be.


	141. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Eight: More important than the whole world

When Naruto opened the door he found one of Juugo's fostermothers standing outside. 

“I am just passing by to invite you and Sasuke to have dinner with us tomorrow night,” she said.

“Thanks,” Naruto answered. “Won't you come in?” 

She followed him to the living-room and kitchen, took place at the table, and Naruto served her tea. He also placed a cup of tea in front of Fukasaku. 

“You have a new pet?” the woman asked. “A frog? Shouldn't he be in a terrarium? Isn't he in danger of drying out without any water to jump into? Do you really think it is a good idea to serve him tea? Shouldn't he drink water instead?” 

“He prefers tea,” Naruto replied. “As for jumping into water: he's no Mist Nin, so he won't dry out.”

The woman remained sceptical. “As long as you don't serve him a cookie to go with the tea...”

“He eats flies. He catches them himself.”

“So that's all right.” She looked around, checking the room for insects. “I hope he's not too hungry. Maybe you need to buy some fruit and let it rot, so that it can attract flies for your frog.”

Naruto did not answer. 

“He's really cute, your frog. You know, our kids want a pet too, preferably a dog. We try to persuade them that a guinea pig will do too. Maybe I could get the boys interested in a frog. They'd think it cool. I guess the smaller kids will prefer a pet they can cuddle, so a frog won't do for them.”

“It's a toad,” Naruto said. “And I have Sasuke for cuddling.”

“Yes, of course. So we want to invite the two of you for dinner tomorrow night. Nothing fancy, just having dinner and then talking or playing some board game.”

Naruto considered it. “I'll come,” he said. “I can't tell about Sasuke: he's really busy these days, and he does not inform me about his plans.”

“That's understandable,” the woman said, making clear that she found it perfectly normal that Sasuke did things on his own without telling Naruto, but that she was irritated by Naruto's tone.

“He goes shopping with someone else.”

“You're not jealous, are you?”

Naruto did not want to admit that he was. Being jealous was considered a major flaw of character among his new friends.

“There's no reason for being jealous, really.”

“So you know what's going on?” 

“Yes. But I won't spoil the surprise.”

“What kind of surprise? That he'll soon present me his new lover?” 

“No, definitely not.”

“You'd tell me if he had a new lover and was keeping him hidden from me, wouldn't you?” 

“I would, really. But there's no such lover, at least none that I know of. Just wait for a few days, then you'll understand. So will you come and visit us tomorrow night? With Sasuke or without him – the invitation is mainly for you.”

Naruto felt flattered. “I'll come.”

“It will be much better than sitting here alone in your flat, waiting for Sasuke to return.”

Naruto could well imagine this.

“You may bring your frog too. I'll make sure there's a large bowl of water for bathing, and some flies he can catch.”

“Yes, thanks. I'll come.”

Naruto accompanied her to the door. When he returned to the table Fukasaku spoke up. “Why did you accept the invitation?”

“Why should I have declined it?” 

“Because you should leave this place as soon as possible. You should not linger around any longer. Tomorrow morning at the latest you should depart and set out to save the world.”

“It's not too late if I start saving the world a day later or two,” Naruto replied.

“You're just putting it off again. You can't escape your destiny.”

“She's a good friend. She means well. I like being with her and her family: there's no reason why I should not accept the invitation. I'd hurt her if I rejected it. I'll start saving the world the day after.”

“You should not postpone it any longer. The day after you'll find a new excuse.”

Naruto knew that this might be the case, so he did not answer. He heard the key in the front door: Sasuke was returning. Naruto tried to discern whether Sasuke looked as if he had just had some enjoyable sex, but mostly he looked angry. 

“You again” he said when he saw Fukasaku. “You're not again trying to convince Naruto that he should leave me in order to save the world?”

“It's his destiny,” Fukasaku replied. “He cannot run from it any longer.”

“He has made the head of Akatsuki admit that he is not Madara. What else do you want?” 

“He still needs to establish peace between the ninja countries.”

“He's learning about peace, too. We have both participated in a seminar for settling conflicts between kindergarten kids. People here think they're quite similar to conflicts between politicians.”

Sasuke had accompanied Naruto to that seminar, as they always went together to everything that was important to either of them. They had again done a lot of role-playing, and even Sasuke had had a lot of fun playing a kid and being as stubborn and irrational as he could imagine. Naruto had enjoyed it even more, and he had been even better at playing a kid, making all the women around them laugh, so that they had to calm down before they could even start trying to solve their conflict. (There had only been two more men, and they had remained in the background.) They had learnt how people here dealt with conflicts between kids: they did not get preachy (Naruto's normal approach to the problem), nor did they just tell them to shut up and stop (which was what Sasuke did), but they asked them what had happened, they allowed them to express their emotions (though without the other child listening), they helped them to calm down again and then to find a viable compromise.

“You don't take that seriously,” Fukasaku said. “Solving conflicts between kindergarten kids as a substitute for creating peace between nations.”

“It was an interesting experience,” Naruto replied.

“People here can teach him what he needs to know,” Sasuke said. 

“He does not need all this,” Fukasaku replied. “He is the child of destiny. He will bring peace to the world, if you don't insist on keeping him for yourself.”

Sasuke sat down at the table, laying his arm around Naruto's hips. 

“I insist on keeping him for myself,” he said. “Just as Naruto insists on keeping me for himself.”

Naruto was glad to hear it.

“I need Naruto. The world does not need him as urgently as I do.”

He was leaning heavily against Naruto now. All the same Naruto sensed that far from relaxing Sasuke was very much on his alert, ready to fight for Naruto if necessary.

“I told you the same, didn't I?” Naruto said. “Sasuke needs me. Without me he would have left Music Town a long time ago.”

“That's true,” Sasuke said. “Without him, I could not live here and feel at peace. Without him life in Music Town would be meaningless.”

“You take yourself far too important,” Fukasaku said. “What is a single person against the whole world?”

“It's not just me,” Sasuke said. “There's also those kids we work with on Friday afternoons. They need him too. They adore him because he's cool and strong and funny and because he cares for them and takes time to teach them taijutsu.”

“They'll adore him even more when he saves the world.”

“But then he can't play with them any more. Also, as I told you, he teaches them to live peacefully and to solve their conflicts without fighting.”

“Kindergarten kids,” Fukasaku said, speaking to Naruto again. “You're teaching peace to kindergarten kids when you should teach peace to the nations of the ninja world.”

“Actually they are a bit older,” Naruto said. “They're between ten and fourteen years old.”

“Still they're just a few kids. What are a few kids when you should be busy saving the whole world?” 

“You should not speak derogatively of those kids,” Sasuke said. “We like them, actually.”

It was true: He liked them too, and enjoyed teaching them taijutsu, even though he did not enjoy being in the focus of attention as Naruto did, and even though he did not enjoy playing the wild loud games Naruto loved to play. He preferred making them train hard, dealing with one of them at a time.

“Even if you like them they can't be as important as the whole world,” Fukasaku said.

“You should be more careful about what you're saying. These kids are not so different from Naruto or myself when we were the same age. You're telling Naruto that he's not important.”

“Naruto is important because he needs to save the world. He's the child of destiny. These kids aren't.”

“They are important too.”

“They can't be as important as the whole world.”

Now Sasuke had to think. His main purpose was to keep Naruto with him in Music Town, mostly because he thought that Naruto was happier with him in Music Town than roaming the world as some kind of wandering priest, preaching peace to people who did not take any interest in his words. Naruto thrived when he was with people he liked, and though he was good at making new friends he would suffer if he had to leave them again after a few weeks in order to preach peace to other people. Of course he also wanted Naruto to stay with him for his own, Sasuke's, sake, but this sounded just too selfish, which was why he had put forward those kids, only that in Fukasaku's opinion they could not be as important as the whole world. Then something else came to his mind. He leant back and smiled. 

“Every single child is as important as the whole world,” he said. “I read it in one of the brochures Naruto brought from the religious communities of Music Town. If you care for one of them you care for all of them. I don't remember which religion this was from.”

“It was actually a quote of the Rikudo himself,” Naruto said. “There's similar quotes from other religious leaders, as they all copy each other and then claim that it was divine inspiration. Some people believe that the fact that a lot of their most important messages are the same is proof that there's really some divine being who's inspiring them, but most scholars think it's just proof that they read each other's texts and learn from each other and copy each other. Anyway, this quote is originally from the Rikudo, and others copied from him: Every child is as important as the whole world, and if you care for one of them it's as if you care for the whole world.” 

“This does not make sense,” Fukasaku replied. “It's not logical. How can a single child be more important than all children of the whole world?” 

“It's wisdom. It does not need to be logical, at least not in the ordinary way. I wonder that you don't know that. I wonder that you've never heard of the quote.”

He smiled: he felt certain of himself again. 

“Sasuke needs me here in Music Town, so I will stay with him. I'll continue working with those kids who rely on me. I won't leave Music Town in order to save the world.”


	142. Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine: Music Town is not helpless

When Fugasaku had left the boys embraced, both of them following a deep desire of their hearts. They opened their mouths to kiss and let their hands wander over each other's bodies, they undressed quickly to feel each other's skin and hear each other's heartbeat. They got aroused, but they did not think of having sex yet, just of being close. 

“You won't leave me to become a wandering priest, will you?” Sasuke said. 

“I won't. And you won't leave me to have sex with someone else?” Naruto replied. 

“I want to have sex with you, not with anyone else,” Sasuke said. “I'll show you.”

He caressed Naruto's ass in a more careful, more seductive way, then he led him to their bedroom...

The next morning Naruto informed Sasuke about their invitation to visit Juugo's fosterfamily.

“It's for you too – if you have time,” he said. 

Sasuke nodded. “I'll come,” he said, sounding as if he had expected the invitation. “I don't have any plans for the evening. Everything is ready now.”

Naruto still felt confused, even though he no longer worried that Sasuke might leave him.

“Tomorrow you'll understand,” Sasuke said when he saw his confusion, and Naruto understood that he had to be patient, and that asking any questions was useless.

It happened that on this morning Sasuke found the article with the transcript of Danzou's speech to the people of Konoha that Sakura had sent them some time ago. He reread it and shook his head. He kept thinking about it while he and Naruto went to the training center, and during their first break in the morning he chose a table some metres apart from the other students to write something himself. Naruto watched him anxiously, but as it was obvious that Sasuke was not having sex with anyone else he respected his desire for some time on his own. He felt even more at his ease when at the end of the break Sasuke joined him and showed him what he had written: a draft for an article he wanted to publish in one of the major newspapers of Music Town (not Urban Lady again.) Naruto began to read: 

I have come to Music Town as a refugee with my friends, and after a couple of months I think it's time to thank both the town itself and also its inhabitants for the warm welcome you gave us. We were refugees and rogue nins without a home of our own, but you accepted us with open arms, you helped us find a place to stay at and a job to earn some money to survive. You gave us the opportunity to train for a career that suits our skills and our personalities, you pay for our training, you make allowances for us and help us to understand your customs when we feel confused. 

Konoha is proud of its tradition of love and comradeship because from an early age children are trained to fight for the village and for each other, and to sacrifice themselves for the village and for each other if necessary. From their point of view, you, the people of Music Town, appear selfish because you spend a lot of time dancing and making music and hanging out with each other, enjoying yourselves. To people in Konoha who have learnt to devote their lives to Konoha it appears as if your life has no higher purpose and as if having fun is the only aim you can think of. They see that you rarely risk your lives for your friends, so they believe that you have no idea about the pleasure that comes from forgetting yourself and no longer caring about your own wellbeing but only about the wellbeing of your friends and village. 

It's true: you rarely risk your life for your friends. You avoid fighting in general, and you rarely get into situations where you are in danger of being killed, so your friends don't need to sacrifice themselves for you. This does not mean that you're selfish, however: You have found a lot of other ways to help your friends without risking your life. You have extended this attitude to us, too, even though we were not friends, but strangers. 

We found friends quickly here who did everything they could in order to help us adapt to our new life in Music Town. They accepted us as part of their family: of real families where people care for each other, not of trees where people are regarded as leaves the tree can well dispense of in autumn, but also in summer as there's lots of other leaves. You've also helped us find a higher purpose for own own lives, a purpose that transcends bonds of personal loyalty, or the loyalty to one's village. We have learnt that justice and peace are more than a dream, but that they're real and that they're worth working for, and that they concern all mankind. We've learnt that for all of you music – good music – is a purpose that transcends your daily life. We've learnt that music – good music – is much more than a passtime, but something that makes life truly human, and give you a purpose that transcends yourself. I want to thank you that you've taught us that life is about much more than just about fighting.

When Naruto had read that article in the form of an open letter to the people of Music Town he thought for a while, then he crossed out the word “I” in the first and last sentence and wrote “we” instead. Sasuke put away the draft, then they had to return to their class.

During their lunch break they left the training center and went to the publishing house of the best-known newspaper of Music Town. Naruto knew that this was another chance to watch Sasuke deal with a social situation their classmates would not have dared to enter, but by now he had learnt that although Sasuke was still a bit awkward and lacked sense for what was appropriate and what not, he had still developed his own techniques of coping with difficulties that arose from such situations.

The first person they spoke to was the woman in charge of subscriptions: Accepting new subscriptions, cancellations of subscriptions, and old people who had not got their newspaper at 6 a.m. When Sasuke showed her the article he had written she referred him to her colleague who was in charge of advertisements. He also read Sasuke's text. 

“This does not belong to the advertisement section,” he said. “It should be published in the regular section. But I can't decide this: you should talk to one of the editors for this.”

“Can you intodruce me to them?” Sasuke asked. 

“I'll show them what you've written.”

Sasuke got a bit nervous when the man disappeared with his text. To his relief he returned after some minutes with a young woman.

“I can't decide whether your text will be published,” she said. “I have to wait for my boss. And it will definitely not be published tomorrow.”

“Is this because you're afraid of provoking Danzou?”

The woman looked irritated. “I haven't thought of this,” she said. “It's just because we need to see how many other articles we have and whether we will be able to fit you in. Why do you ask?”

“I ask because last time we did an interview with Urban Lady we got problems with the administration of Music Town because allegedly it was our fault that Mitokado Homura died from a heart attack. We were told to ask the administration for permission if we wanted to do another interview.”

“You gave an interview to Urban Lady?”

The woman looked at Naruto, then at Sasuke, and then at Naruto again.

“I remember. You've inherited the rights to Icha-Icha, haven't you? I've seen your photo on the back cover of the Gutsy Ninja.”

“Yes, that's me,” Naruto replied. 

The woman wrote down this piece of information and attached the note to the article. “It will increase the chance that your article will be published,” she said. “Do you have time to wait until my boss returns?” 

“No,” Sasuke answered flatly. “Our lunch break is over. We need to return to our work.”

“Of course. When are you able to return?” 

Sasuke told her .

“We'll see you then. By then we'll also be able to tell you whether your article will be published, and when.”

Sasuke and Naruto left and returned to the training center. In the afternoon they had to go on patrol, but when this was over they returned to the publishing-house.

“I have good news for you,” the young journalist said. “Your articles will be published though only in a few days. But it's too short: it needs to be fleshed out.”

“Shall I rewrite it?” Sasuke asked.

“We'll do it together. Just follow me to a room where we can talk.”

She led them to the publishing-house's meeting-room where she asked them a couple of questions, based on the text Sasuke had written. She mainly wanted to know more details about people in Music Town they had made friends with, people who had helped them cope with life in Music Town. “People need stories,” she said, “not abstract concepts.”

They told her more about the gay community that had welcomed them as new members: “They made us feel that we belong to them,” Naruto said. “You may say that they supported us, but it's closer to the truth if you say that they included us in their system of mutual support, making us help other people too. It was not easy to accept that I might be gay, even though my heart had always been yearning for Sasuke when we were separated from each other, but now that I have got to know the gay community of Music Town and learnt how they care for each other I'm proud that I'm one of them.”

The woman took notes.

“It's not only them,” Sasuke continued. “And they shouldn't be the only ones who get mentioned, because we don't want to offend all the other people who also helped us. It's people who became our friends, but it's also strangers we met in town, and it's officials of the town itself. They should be mentioned too.”

The woman took notes. “We will include them. People will consider it weird if you present homosexuals as the most helpful people in town.”

Including all these stories into Sasuke's text turned out to be much more difficult than she had originally believed, and when they had managed the text was extremely long and had lost its character as a letter of thanks to the people of Music Town. The woman decided to return to the original version and write an extra article that contained the stories Sasuke and Naruto had told her. She wrote it mainly herself, but she let the boys watch her, and included their suggestions and corrections. When they had finished she showed the result of their combined efforts to her boss. He, too, made some corrections and told them that in a few days the articles would be published.

“I have been to the town hotel, and consulted the major about you. I would not have done it normally: we have a free press here, and may print what we seem fit to be printed. However I did not want to get you into trouble, or to endanger your careers at the police. The major remembers you well, and she also remembers that the interview you gave to Urban Lady led to Mitokado Homura's death from a heart attack. We think, however, that this was not because of what you said, but simply because your interview had shown that you are both alive and in alliance. We don't think that anyone will die because of your article. Also we have made up our mind that even if Danzou takes offense we won't care. We are here in Music Town, we are independent of Fire Country and Konoha, and we won't let Danzou dictate what we may or may not print in our newspapers. We are not helpless: we are protected by a complicated and well-balanced system of treaties. If Konoha threatens us because of what you wrote all the other ninja villages will come to our rescue.”

“Are you certain that they will risk your lives for you?” 

“They will. All ninja need music, just as anyone else does, and we have the monopoly for music on the continent. They won't let Music Town fall. Also, Konoha is much weaker than she used to be: The attacks against Madara's hideout, or the hideout of the man who pretended to be Madara, made clear that Konoha is isolated. The other villages did not accept Konoha's help, first because Danzou's sabre rattling had annoyed them all, and second because Konoha lacks the capacity for any substantial support. What Danzou had to offer was just some symbolic contribution, as Konoha's forces are needed to protect the village against an attack from outside. That's not my own opinion, it's what Danzou said. Of course the other villages did not take well the hidden accusation that they'd backstab Konoha while they were all busy taking out Madara`s hideout, so they turned down Konoha's offer. Danzou is quite an outcast now among his colleagues.”

“Hasn't he be an outcast for quite some time now?” 

“It's got worse since this affair. The other kages are people too, and they don't like being insulted. They've ceased to fear him, however, they know he's weak. Konoha has lost a lot of her ninja, mostly from desertion, and even among those who remain he had lost his support. They resent that Konoha is no longer the best respected of all the ninja villages. They won't follow him if he orders them to attack Music Town. Also it's clear that he does not provide over the kyuubi. He can't threaten us any more. It's well-known that the two remaining jinchuuriki live in Music Town. We're no longer helpless.”

He looked at Naruto. Apparently he knew that he was the kyuubi's jinchuuriki. 

“We don't intend to use the kyuubi,” Sasuke said. “The kyuubi is happy these days, with Naruto caring for him. He doesn't want to fight.”

“No one wants that,” the man said. “It's just in case we get attacked. But of course we hope that we won't get attacked.”


	143. Chapter One Hundred Forty: It really works

Both boys were disturbed by the man's answer, and they did not speak when they left his office. They were in a hurry: They were already late for their appointment for dinner with Juugo's fostermothers. They just changed clothes at their own place, then they left again, and arrived at Juugo's place at a time when dinner was already cooking on the stove, but still needed some time before it could be eaten. All the kids, except the youngest, were out, visiting some friends of theirs. 

“This is your evening,” the women told Naruto. “We don't want to split our attention between you and our kids tonight.”

They opened a bottle of wine and made the boys sit down. They needed to explain why they were late, of course, and the women told Sasuke that they were looking forward to the text he had written, sounding however as if he was one of their kids who had done some assignment for school they wanted to see, not as if they expected something they might learn from, or that would make them think.

“It's some kind of letter to say thank you to the people of Music Town,” Sasuke explained. “I've mentioned you too because you did a lot for us, but even more for Juugo.”

“That's nice,” the women said, waiting for more to come. “But someone just had to care for Juugo. It would have been nice though if you had told us earlier that in reality he's a grown-up man. He behaves like a grown-up man now, helping us in the house wherever he can.”

“You should do that too,” the other woman said. “You're grown-up, or almost grown-up, aren't you? For example you might learn to cook, so that you can cook for yourselves on Sundays and don't need us to cook for you.”

“Or you could invite us for a change,” her partner suggested. 

“We have both learnt to cook when we were still small children,” Naruto replied. “We just can't do the fancy stuff. Also, I thought you enjoyed cooking.”

“We enjoy the fancy stuff,” the woman replied. “And we enjoy doing it together. We don't so much enjoy cooking for a large family every day.”

“But today it's an invitation,” the other woman added. “Today you don't do anything.”

She went to the kitchen to look after the food, and when she saw that it was ready she called her partner. Together they laid the table and brought the food. As promised the boys were not allowed to help. They ate and talked, and Naruto told the woman that the man at the publishing-house had suggested to them that they might have to use the kyuubi if Konoha threatened to attack Music Town.

“It won't happen,” the woman said. “Konoha's weak. Danzou's busy controlling his own people, and preventing them from starting a rebellion.”

“But if it happens what should I do? Should I refuse to use the kyuubi?”

The women considered it, and looked at each other as if they were trying to read each other's thoughts. “You should be allowed to choose for yourself,” the second woman said. “You should not be forced, and no pressure should be exerted.”

“No one can force me,” Naruto said. “I'm too strong.”

“There's other ways of forcing a person to do what they don't want to do. They can make you feel that you're selfish and not loveworthy if you refuse to use it.”

Naruto had to admit that he was vulnerable to that kind of pressure.

“If I use the kyuubi Sasuke will have to act as my backup, and that is detrimental to his eyesight,” he said.

“That's a good argument to bring up against using the kyuubi. People would understand this attitude. They admire lovers who are true to each other, and also, you'd make clear that you're not being selfish.”

“But they might start to urge Sasuke that he should not be selfish, and that he should be ready to risk his eyesight to defend Music Town if Konoha attacks.” 

All four of them (including the little boy sitting on his mother's lap) looked at Sasuke, but Sasuke did not answer.

“But even if there's no pressure, what do you think should I do? Do you think I should decide not to use the kyuubi?”

“I think it's best if you decide by yourself without being influenced by other people.”

Naruto was not content with her answer, but the woman had made clear that she would not say anything more.

“There's a programme on TV we wanted to watch with you,” the other woman now said. “Normally we don't watch TV with our guests, but tonight there's a documentary that might be of interest to you. You'll learn what demonstrations can really do.”

“We know about demonstrations,” Naruto said. “We've been at one. Normally we are not supposed to, but they were understaffed, so we had to step in. It was not at all like what you told us: there were just a few dozen people with banners, and if the police had not been with them nobody would have recognized them as a demonstration. We went through town for about an hour, and that was it. No one chained himself to a building, heroically offering to die if the building got taken down.”

“There's nothing heroic about chaining yourself to a building if you know that the building won't be torn down as long as you're attacked to it, but that the police will send for specialists with chainsaws, and that paying for the specialists will be the only problem you are facing,” Sasuke said.

“Anyway, it was weird and even a bit sad,” Naruto continued. “There was nothing of the conflicts we had heard of. Just a few people with banners walking through town.”

“What was the demonstration about?” one of the women asked.

“They want to restrict tourism. They think that Music Town is flooded with tourists, not only from the ninja countries but also from oversea, so that the locals no longer feel at home.”

“Naruto was really upset,” Sasuke said. “He wanted to speak to the demonstrators and discuss the issue with them, but our superiors told him that while he was on duty he had to remain neutral. In the end one of our civilian officers got him some leaflets and brochures that were distributed by the demonstrators.” 

“I mean, why do they want to restrict tourism? What do they have against tourists? They don't cause much trouble, they have interesting ideas if you bother to talk to them, they bring new music from other continents, they are laid back, as they have a lot of time. Also, I've always thought that Music Town lives on tourists and that with the money they spend here Music Town buys new technology and coffee from abroad.”

“It does.” 

“So why do they demonstrate against tourists?” 

The woman shrugged. “There's all kinds of weird people in Music Town. They are all entitled to demonstrate if they think it necessary.”

“Now be quiet!” the other woman said. “The documentary will start soon. Then you'll see: this is about the real thing. Not just a few people who are not content with this or that minor issue, but a really huge demonstration, the kind of demonstration that's able to take down a government. We thought you might be interested in it, as you're still thinking about a way to bring down Danzou.”

“Demonstrations don't work in Konoha,” Sasuke said. “In Konoha people who chain themselves to buildings won't be liberated. They'll be killed.”

“That's far from certain” ,the woman replied. “Now be quiet!”

The documentary was about a demonstration in a country on a different continent, on the occasion of its anniversary. They were a bit late already, and had missed the introduction and the explanations. The first pictures they saw already showed the demonstration: a huge crowd of people, not just a few dozen who would not be noted if the police weren't accompanying them, but the whole street was full of demonstrators, with hardly any space for people who wanted to watch the demonstration from the sidewalk. What was even more impressive: the crowd on the street did not seem to end. At some point the street turned around a corner, and from that corner more and more people turned into the street, while in front people disappeared from the screen. Sasuke and Naruto had never seen so many people in one place, not even during football matches.

“It must be a big town,” Naruto said.

“About five times the size of Music Town,” one of the women replied. “Now look at this!” 

There was police at the sides of the street, police in thick clothes to protect them against stones, with shields and with weapons. They also had heavy vehicles: Sasuke and Naruto did not know what to make of them, as vehicles were not common in the ninja countries, and the women had to explain to them that they were weapons on wheels. Sasuke and Naruto knew that in countries on other continents, where they did not have any ninja, they needed mechanical weapons (and chemical explosives) to make up for their lack of powerful ninjutsu. They had not heard of weapons on wheels, however.

What was most astonishing, however, was the behaviour of those policemen. In spite of their weapons they appeared nervous. They talked to their colleagues: the rank and file to reassure themselves, the officers to discuss what to do. The demonstrators, however, looked determined: they were afraid but defied the danger. They did not carry any weapons. 

“What's going on?” Naruto asked. “It's an illegal demonstration, isn't it, otherwise there would not be so much police. But if it's illegal, why do the police not intervene?”

“They can't,” one of the women answered. 

“But why? They are much stronger, aren't they?” Sasuke asked. “The demonstrators are just ordinary people.”

“That's why the police can't intervene. They can't fight ordinary people.”

“But they could tell them to stop their demonstration, or to demonstrate legally on another day, or to change the route?” 

“It won't work if the demonstrators are really determined to take the route they want to take. You can't talk to seventy thousand people.”

“You can block a street without hurting people,” Sasuke said. “You can end a blockade without hurting people. You can form a kettle. I know, a kettle is considered violence by people in Music Town who enjoy demonstrating, but to someone like me who's experienced real violence a kettle is nothing.”

“All these strategies only work if there's not too many demonstrators.” 

Sasuke had to admit that he could not imagine a kettle around all these people. The police would have to block the whole center of town. 

“The only option they had was a bloodbath. In the end they decided against it.”

Again the documentary showed some high-ranking policemen in a discussion with civilian authorities.

“In Konoha they would have chosen a bloodbath,” Sasuke said. 

“That's not certain. Killing thousands of unarmed people isn't as easy as it sounds.”

“Itachi did it without hesitation,” Sasuke replied, and then, after some thinking, he added: “Well, most of them were powerful ninja in their own right. But some of them weren't. My aunt and uncle were old and no longer able to fight.”

“For most people it's not easy,” the woman repeated. “This also means that if the officers order a massacre it's not certain whether they will be obeyed. For them, it's their own people. Some of them may have friends or family among the protesters, and for all of them, the protesters look like ordinary, hard-working people, not like your good-for-nothing friends who spend their time hanging out at the river or in pubs, discussing their weird ideas and consuming drugs.”

“They're not weird,” Sasuke said. “They have the most fascinating ideas I found in Music Town.”

“Still they spend too much time hanging out, and they consume too many drugs. This is not what keeps policemen from shooting at them. But if the protesters look like ordinary people with ordinary problems, if they look as if they spend most of their time working and raising their kids and as if demonstrating is not a hobby of theirs but something they do as a last resort because something is going really really wrong, then the police will think twice before they intervene.”

“My family were ordinary people too,” Sasuke said. “Still they were murdered because people perceived them as different.”

The women didn't answer. The documentary now showed the end of the demonstration: people assembling at a public place and listening to speeches, then they began to leave and go home. The police watched them without doing anything, then they left too.

“Maybe the problem with your family was that they were too few, and they were not popular with the rest of the population. If it's really the whole people who are demonstrating the police is helpless.”

“What happened afterwards?” Naruto asked. “Did they succeed?” 

“A week later, even more people demonstrated. They were no longer afraid. And some more weeks later the government broke down.”

“It broke down? You mean it's possible to bring down a government just by walking around with signs and banners with political slogans?”

“Sometimes.” 

“Even in places where people don't have a lot of rules about not fighting and not employing violence?” 

“Maybe it's even easier there. But maybe the real point is whether you have the support of the population. In Music Town most people are content with their situation, so they won't try to change the government.”

Naruto sank down in his seat, thinking. The woman switched off the TV-set, as the documentary had ended, and brought some board game. 

It was one of those games where you form teams and then guess words, one drawing something or doing a pantomime while the other has to guess. As neither Sasuke nor Naruto had ever played such a game each of the women teamed up with one of them, and they were astonished how the boys, once they had understood the game, got ambitious and tried to defeat each other, as if they had not realized that having fun and making a fool of oneself while doing a pantomime was the purpose of the game. Even Sasuke, who was not much of an actor, did his best to invent minimalist pantomimes that gave his partner a clear idea of the word she had to guess. For the next round they let the boys form a team, hoping to stop their competitiveness. Now they were astonished how well they played, even though they had just learnt the game.

“Is reading each other's mind a ninja technique?” they asked. 

“None that we are capable of,” Sasuke replied. 

They considered a third round, but when they looked at the clock they saw that it was half past eleven. 

“Not enough time,” they said, pouring the boys another drink. One of them went to look after the champagne she had put into the fridge, making Naruto wonder. Also their kids returned. They got themselves chairs and orange juice and looked at Naruto. Even the youngest boy, who had been sleeping on his mother's lap, woke up. 

When the clock struck midnight first one, then the other woman embraced Naruto and kissed him on his cheeks. 

“Happy birthday!” they said. “We hope that tomorrow will be a wonderful day for you, and that the next year will be a great year, and all the years that follow too.”

Naruto had completely forgotten about his birthday as he had never celebrated it. 

The little girls climbed onto the sofa and embraced him too, then one of them went to her room and brought a picture she and her sisters had drawn. The boys didn't embrace Naruto, and they were too old to draw pictures for birthday presents, but they also wished Naruto a happy birthday, and gave him a litre bottle of lube. (They must have had a spy, as they had bought Naruto's favorite brand.) They giggled worse than their sisters.

The women themselves had a present too: a couple of pots as in their opinion Sasuke and Naruto had far too few of them, and also some fancy kitchen tools.

“We want you to be able to invite guests and cook for them.”

Naruto thanked them. 

Finally Sasuke was able to embrace him too. “Happy birthday, Naruto,” he said. He held him for several minutes, caressing his shoulders and kissing him.


	144. Chapter One Hundred Forty-One: Presents

When they went home fom Juugo's fostermothers' place Naruto had tears in his eyes. It was three a.m. by now, and both he and Sasuke were quite drunk. They had played another boardgame, and the kids had won most of the time because they had not drunk any alcohol. People had continued to make a lot of fuss about him, asking him what he wanted to eat or drink, or which game he wanted to play. He had enjoyed being a bit childish, but mostly he had enjoyed being in the center of attention. 

He and Sasuke had to support each other when they walked home, and when they arrived they went straight to their bedroom. There was no question of having sex now, but they embraced and caressed each other and entangled their legs. They could not have fallen asleep without touching. 

“I wish you a happy birthday.” Sasuke said. “I am just happy that you're with me.”

Naruto had already fallen asleep.

The next morning when they woke up Sasuke wished him a happy birthday again. He kissed him and began to caress his chest and his belly. 

“Now let us make sure that the day will start in the most wonderful way possible.” he said. “You just enjoy and relax. I will do the work.”

“What?” Naruto said. He enjoyed being the passive partner, but he did not enjoy doing nothing at all. He took Sasuke's shoulders and turned him around so that he came to lie on his back. 

“It's my turn again.” he said. “You shall be my birthday present.” 

Sasuke smiled and kissed him. He had missed being the passive partner actually, and he didn't mind that Naruto wanted to be active again, as long as he agreed to be the passive partner again in the future: Sasuke enjoyed being the active partner too.

He supported himself on his elbows to be better able to caress Naruto: his belly, his thighs, his nipples, now with the aim of arousing him, not of making him relax. Naruto returned his caresses: he touched the inner side of Sasuke's thighs. They both sat up to be better able to touch each other.

Their love-making had become a bit monotonous these last weeks with Naruto lying on his back and both of them aiming for the moment when they felt like one. Now, however, it was Saturday, it was Naruto's birthday, and they had a lot of time. They caressed each other again as they had done when they had just fallen in love, exploring each other's bodies as if they were new to them.

“We might try some new position.” Sasuke suggested. “I might sit on your lap. Or you may ride me. Then you'd be active too.”

“That's not what I meant.” Naruto said. 

He drew Sasuke onto his lap. Their cocks touched each other while they embraced, and noticing this, Naruto intentionally rubbed them against each other, he grinned while he did it, feeling naughty and childish and sexy at the same time. Sasuke smiled back: he thought that Naruto was most handsome when he grinned like this. The only problem was that laughing and getting aroused did not go together well, and so Sasuke kissed him and caressed Naruto's cock, and when he felt ready he got the lube from the bedside table. He distributed it on Naruto's cock and sat down on him. Naruto kissed his shoulder: Sasuke's head was now well above his own. Sasuke made him lay back his head, so that he could kiss him.

“I've missed feeling you inside me.” he said, and he did not feel passive at all, but active and protective. He moved up and down, he tensed his muscles around Naruto's cock: Naruto had learnt the trick from some book “sex tips for profis” and Sasuke had found it extremely enjoyable when he had been the active partner, so now he tried it too. Naruto opened his mouth even wider, letting his hands wander over Sasuke's shoulderblades. He tried to push deeper into Sasuke though this was difficult from his position. Sasuke made himself heavier, taking Naruto in, then he moved up and down again, and while Naruto concentrated on kissing him he made them both climax. There it was again: the moment when they became one, connected by their genitals and by their kisses. It did not matter how they made love. 

Sasuke got up carefully, tousling Naruto's hair. They caressed each other's bellies; they needed some minutes to relax.

“I have a present for you, too.” Sasuke said. “I have not forgotten it's your birthday.”

He brought two presents, actually. One was obviously a book, the other was flat, but larger in the two remaining dimensions. Naruto first unpacked the book: it was about the Third Ninja World War. 

“Your father came to be known as a hero during that war.” Sasuke said. “He was respected by people in other countries too, even though they were Konoha's enemies. I have taken a look into the book already: it also covers the years after the war. Our friends from the riverside have told me it's a good book: written by a famous scholar, but for a general audience, so it's not too hard to read.” 

Naruto was not certain what he thought or what he felt. He did not take as much interest in history as Sasuke, and also these day he did not know how he felt about his father. It still irked him that Itachi had refused to sacrifice Sasuke, while his own father had sealed the kyuubi into him. He unpacked the other present: it contained a picture of the Yondaime in a frame. He was wearing his official hat, and he stood next to the stone with the names of ninja who had given their life for Konoha, ready to deliver a speech. Naruto stared at it, unable to say a word. 

“It was the most beautiful picture I could find.” Sasuke said. “I thought that there should be a photo on the shrine for you, too, so that you have something to look at.”

Naruto wondered whether he would be able to talk to his father in his mind, just as Sasuke talked to his parents. 

“I cut it out from a magazine.” Sasuke said. “There's some beautiful pictures in the book, too, but I did not want to destroy the book. Also, most pictures in the book are much smaller, and they are black and white.”

Finally Naruto understood what Sasuke had done: how he had considered what Naruto most longed for, and how he was ready to share with him what was most important to himself: the shrine with his family's photo. He embraced and kissed Sasuke, he buried his face in Sasuke's hair to hide his tears. Sasuke's hands moved all over his back. 

“I have kept the rest of the magazine.” he said “If you want you can have a look at it and choose another picture.”

Naruto rubbed his forehead against Sasuke's shoulders. “It's perfect.” he said. 

They held each other a bit longer, then Sasuke broke off the embrace: “Let's have breakfast.” he said. 

They moved to the living-room. Sasuke laid the table. He had bought various kinds of food Naruto loved but that were rather expensive, meaning they only bought them on special occasions. He had also bought another present for Naruto: a cooking-book for ramen.

“I know you long for Konoha.” Sasuke said. “Maybe preparing yourself a pot of ramen will give you some comfort.”

“They sell ramen in the supermarket.” Naruto said. “But it's not the same as ramen from Ichiraku's place.”

“When you cook it yourself it will be like ramen from Ichiraku's place. We can also invite our friends and show them some part of Konoha's culture.”

“Yes, we can do that.” Naruto replied, embracing Sasuke to thank him.

They were in a mood for sex again. They were still naked and their cocks still accidentally touched when they embraced each other, and when their chests touched they could feel each other's heartbeat. Sasuke dissolved the embrace and blushed, and caressed Naruto's face, and Naruto returned the gesture. Sasuke was still a bit stiff and tense in public, he thought, but he was cute and tender and gracious when it were just the two of them.

They still sat on their chairs, their feet on each other's chairs. They kissed and caressed each other's cocks and sometimes their nipples. It was pure fun, still Sasuke broke off before they climaxed. He was in a mood for more, though he did not know what it was that he wanted. He pulled Naruto down to the floor where they continued caressing each other, only that now they could move more freely than when they had still been sitting on their chairs. They could change positions more easily: sit on each other's lap, facing each other or not, they could lie on their belly or on their side, so that the other would caress their back or their ass. They could even stand, which was not possible when they had sex in their bed. 

So Naruto stood upright, leaning against the table, and Sasuke licked his genitals, but soon Naruto realized that he could not relax like that. He moved to the sofa, somehow taking Sasuke with him, sitting down and leaning back while Sasuke wrapped his arms around his waist and continued his activities. Now Naruto could focus on what Sasuke was doing to his cock and his balls. He touched Sasuke's hair and caressed his neck and his shoulderblades while he leaned back, enjoying what he felt. 

Sasuke broke off before Naruto climaxed. He lifted his upper body over Naruto's thighs, so that he lay beside him instead of between his legs. He continued to caress Naruto's thighs, and Naruto continued to caress his hair, and his back, and his ass. He was not certain what to make of Sasuke's behaviour, until Sasuke made clear what he wanted by passing the lube to Naruto. (Naruto had not watched him bring the lube from the bedroom. Apparently Sasuke was still a ninja: highly skilled in doing things without being noticed.) Naruto still felt insecure: obviously Sasuke wanted to try something new. 

“You want me to do it from behind?” he asked. 

“Yes.” Sasuke answered. 

“Are you certain?” 

“Everyone does it. I want to give it a try.” 

Naruto took position behind Sasuke, continuing to caress his back and his ass. He took some lube, warmed it between his hands and began to distribute it around Sasuke's anus, caressing him and carefully inserting a finger. He felt Sasuke relax. Naruto still felt insecure: Sasuke had said that he wanted it, but Naruto could not see his face, welcoming him, or feel his hands that drew him into his arms. He continued caressing him, and he kissed the soft spot between neck and shoulder. When he felt that Sasuke was ready he entered him carefully. Sasuke turned his head to the side, and Naruto kissed his cheek. He was glad that now he could see Sasuke's face. 

“You like it?” he asked. 

“I do.” Sasuke answered. “It feels very natural. Go on!”

Naruto began to move, slowly and carefully, then faster, then again more slowly. Seeing Sasuke's face, and hearing the sounds Sasuke made when he enjoyed sex, Naruto felt somehow reassured. He was really cute, he thought, slender and gracile, and fully given to him. He felt Sasuke come, then he allowed himself to climax. For some seconds he lay spread over Sasuke, his belly on Sasuke's back, then he pulled out, lying down on the sofa next to him. He caressed Sasuke's hair while they both caught their breath. Sasuke returned the gesture. 

“Everything okay?” Naruto asked. 

Sasuke nodded and smiled. Naruto smiled back. Because of his uncertainty he had not been able to fully enjoy it. 

“It's an easy position.” Sasuke said, and Naruto admitted that this was true.

They remained like this for some minutes, then Sasuke said: “It's my turn now.”

Naruto nodded: it was just fair, and he would not chicken out like he had chickened out after the first time Sasuke had asked him to be the passive partner. 

Sasuke got up and gently led him to the table. Naruto wondered, but he trusted Sasuke and followed him. He had changed expression again: not any more soft and tender, entrusting himself to Naruto, but confident of himself. He kissed Naruto and embraced him, then he turned him around and made him face the table. He continued kissing and caressing him. Naruto felt a bit worried, but Sasuke comforted him. 

“It's really an easy position.”

Naruto supported himself on his hands. He felt Sasuke's hands on his ass, on his thighs, on his hips, on his shoulderblades, and then Sasuke's kisses on his neck and his buttocks, His hands were warm and gentle, and Naruto relaxed and felt less nervous. It was still Sasuke who'd he have sex with, and he knew that Sasuke was very careful when he was the active partner.

“Your ass is really beautiful.” Sasuke said, cupping the ass cheeks with his hands and then kissing the ass. Somehow he had again managed to bring the lube from the sofa to the table: he always paid attention to important details. Naruto felt him distribute the lube around his anus, and then insert a finger. It was a weird situation, not seeing what Sasuke was doing, not being able to do anything himself. He felt Sasuke's cock touching him.

“Are you ready?” Sasuke asked. 

“I am. Go ahead!”

Sasuke entered him, and slowly began to move. It was really an easy, convenient position; it was as if they had been made for this. Naruto began to move too, following Sasuke's rhythm, then it occurred to him that this did not make much sense. He stopped moving, and Sasuke stopped moving too. 

“Now start moving again, but slowly.” Naruto said, and this time Naruto moved in the opposite direction, backward when Sasuke moved forward, forward when Sasuke moved backward.

“That's much better.” he said. 

“You're a natural genius when it comes to love.” Sasuke answered, playing with Naruto's hair and kissing his neck. Naruto took one of his hands and pressed it against his chest, caressing it. He told Sasuke to accelerate, and after a short time they both climaxed. 

Sasuke pulled out so that Naruto could turn around and embrace him. They held each other, resting their heads on each other's shoulders. 

“You're a genius too.” Naruto said. “The presents you found for me, I mean. They were the work of a true genius.” 

“It was not that difficult to figure out you'd like them.” Sasuke replied. “Anyway, this was much better than our first attempt. It's much better when you move and when you talk.”

“Next time when I'm the active partner you move too, and you don't let me do all the work.”

“As you wish.” Sasuke said. “It's just that you have a beautiful ass but that it does not make up for not being able to see your eyes.”

“It does not make up for not being able to see your face.” Naruto replied, kissing Sasuke.

They had not been able to achieve the moment when they were one while they had sex, but now, kissing, they were.


	145. Chapter One Hundred Forty-Two: Birthday Guests

They dissolved the embrace. Even though they were powerful ninja and even though they were young and in love they needed a break after the third round. Sasuke went to the bedroom to fetch the photo he had found for Naruto and put it on the shrine, next to the photo of his own family. For a while they stood in front of it, their arms around each other's shoulders. Naruto tried to talk to his father like Sasuke talked to his parents: 

You did a lot to reestablish trust between Konoha and the other ninja villages, he said, and I admire you for this, but in the end you gave in to the pressure that was put on you and sacrificed both yourself and me.

He did not know how to continue. He did not know what he really thought of his father. He remembered how Sasuke normally sought his parents' approval when he talked to them. 

I do my best to achieve peace too, he said, even if it's only among children. They are not kindergarten kids, however. They are between ten and fourteen. People here think that if I can resolve conflicts between children it will be easy for me to resolve conflicts between politicians. 

It felt weird. Sasuke believed he had a duty towards his parents. Naruto was not certain whether he had such a duty.

Jiraiya taught me to dream of peace. I have released a new edition of the Gutsy Ninja. You loved the book, didn't you? You named me after its hero.

Naruto realized that he did feel a duty towards Jiraiya. Maybe he should look for a portrait of Jiraiya to put it upon the shrine. 

He kissed Sasuke's shoulder to indicate that he had finished talking to his father. Sasuke drew him closer to his side, letting his hand wander over Naruto's back and his ass. He had not finished talking to his parents yet. 

I have found a friend, and I've learnt to care for him, he said. When the time comes I'll be able to care for a child. I've become a good person. You'd be proud of me. 

The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts. “Who might it be?” Naruto asked. “Do we expect any visitors?”

“Not so early,” Sasuke replied. “I have no idea actually. Maybe it's the mailman.”

He wrapped himself into a blanket that was lying on the sofa. Naruto went to the bedroom to put on his sleeping T-shirt and his most presentable boxers. When he returned to the living-room he saw that Kakashi and Sakura had arrived. Sakura was staring at Sasuke with an expression of shock, confusion and fascination, unable to say anything. Naruto hurried to Sasuke's side, laying his arm around his shoulders, then he let it glide over his back. 

Sasuke did the same.

“He's always been gay,” Naruto said. “And I'm gay now too. You'll have to get used to it.”

Sakura kept staring at them. Naruto helped Sasuke rearrange the blanket, then Sasuke went to the bedroom to get dressed. Naruto heard him take a shower. 

“Won't you come in?” he said. “Do you want something to eat or to drink? Tea? Coffee? You see, we've just had breakfast. You can have breakfast too, if you want.”

“What's coffee?” Sakura asked. 

“It's some foreign drink that's very popular here. Sasuke loves it. I don't.”

“I've read about it in Icha-Icha”. Kakashi said. “I'll try it.”

They went inside and sat down at the breakfast table. Naruto prepared tea and coffee and laid the table for his guests: He felt weird. He should have been happy, he knew, but he wasn't. It would have been easier if he had known about their arrival beforehand.

He also felt weird because neither Kakashi nor Sakura looked happy. 

“It must have been an exhausting journey,” he said.

“It was,” Sakura answered. 

“We had to flee at night,” Kakashi explained. “We weren't safe before we had crossed the border of Fire Country. It would not have occurred to me that it would ever come to this.”

Naruto felt that it was not just the exhaustion, but he didn't dare to ask them what had happened. He was glad when Sasuke arrived to relieve him. He went to the bathroom to have a shower too, and to dress properly. He returned, and sitting down next to Sasuke he caressed his back and his shoulders. Sasuke had done the same when he had come to relieve him.

Naruto realized that he was no longer used to people staring at them: all their friends had ceased to wonder about them a long time ago, and strangers in Music Town would look irritated for some seconds and then they'd pretend that everything was normal.

“Why were you not dressed at that time of the day?” Kakashi asked. 

“We've slept in,” Naruto explained.

“Ninja don't sleep in.”

“People in Music Town do. On Saturdays and Sundays they sleep in.”

“What's Saturdays and Sundays?” Sakura asked. 

“It's called weekend. People don't work during weekends. They do what they want, like partying, and sleeping in the next morning.”

Both Sakura and Kakashi took some time to digest the information. 

“I've read about something like this in Icha-Icha,” Kakashi said. “There's a lot of parties there, but not all of them take place on Saturdays and Sundays. People don't work in Jiraiya's stories.” He paused for a few seconds. “And why were you naked when you had breakfast?” he asked. “Is that also some custom of Music Town?” 

“It's a custom of those who are in love,” Naruto said, leaning against Sasuke so that he almost sat on his lap. Sasuke began to play with his hair. 

Sakura and Kakashi stared at them again. 

“Doesn't Jiraiya write about this custom in Icha-Icha?” Sasuke asked. 

“Actually not,” Kakashi replied. 

Sasuke continued caressing Naruto's hair, and also his back. Naruto enjoyed it: Now he did not mind being passive. He remembered what they had done this morning and it occurred to him that from their present position they could have a smooth transition to having sex. 

He saw Sakura staring at them, though more at Sasuke than at himself. He imagined how he must look in her eyes: strong and manly and confident, extremely beautiful and completely out of reach. Sasuke begain to nibble his ear, and Naruto thought how he liked him best: Spread out on the bed, ready to receive him as his lover.

“You're lucky though,” Sasuke told Kakashi. “There will be a party tonight. It's Naruto's birthday today, so I've rented a floor of the community center.”

“Have you?” Naruto said. “You haven't told me anything.”

“It was meant to be a surprise.”

“So now the surprise is spoilt.”

“It's okay. I wanted to tell you anyway.”

Naruto had never celebrated his birthday. He wondered what a party organized by Sasuke would be like. It was weird anyway: celebrating his birthday. He was aware that the evening he and Sasuke had spent with Juugo's fostermothers had been kind of a birthday party as well, but now there was a second birthday party, thanks to Sasuke. He felt a bit dizzy. 

“I didn't know it's your birthday,” Sakura said.

“I didn't know either,” Kakashi added. 

The doorbell rang, and again Naruto wondered who it might be. Sasuke looked at the clock. 

“This is when I expected our guests,” he said. “You open the door.”

Naruto did so. It was Karin. 

“Happy birthday,” she said, embracing him. “I hope it will be a wonderful birthday for you, and that the rest of the year will be a wonderful year.”

“Thanks,” Naruto answered, feeling a bit embarrassed by her. 

“I have a present for you,” Karin continued, passing a large box to him. When Naruto unpacked it he found an object that consisted of stones, shells, beads and some metal tubes, all connected by strings. Karin showed him how to hold it. 

“It's meant to hang from the ceiling, next to the door or the window. When some evil spirit passes through the door it will shake the stones and metal tubes and their sound will warn you.” 

She shook it to show him the sounds the object made. 

“Sasuke loves that kind of random noise,” Naruto answered. “He confuses them with real music. We'll put it up at a place with a lot of wind.”

Still from the entrance hall Karin smiled at Sasuke in the most seductive way she was capable of. Naruto thought that by now she had certainly understood that there was no way she'd ever seduce Sasuke, so he concluded that she must do it out of habit, or in order to annoy Sasuke. Naruto led her into the living-room, where she tried to embrace Sasuke. By now he had learnt to prevent her from laying her arms around him without appearing too rude, still everyone saw that he felt extremely awkward.

“These are friends from Konoha,” Naruto introduced Kakashi and Sakura.

“Friends from Konoha! Wow! You've traveled a long way for him!”

She embraced them too. Both looked as if they were not used to it, but at least Kakashi seemed to enjoy it once he had overcome his surprise. 

“So how did your journey go? How long did it take you to travel from Konoha to Music Town?” 

“Three days,” Kakashi answered. “The journey was fine once we had crossed the border of Fire Country.” 

“I understand,” Karin said. “Naruto's lucky that he has friends who take such a great risk upon themselves in order to celebrate his birthday with him.” 

Sasuke got up. “Have you finished breakfast?” he asked Sakura and Kakashi. “I need to clear the table and to prepare some snacks: we expect more guests.” 

Naruto wondered whom Sasuke had invited, but at least he was not surprised when the door bell rang again. This time it was the guy from Earth Country. 

“My husband's busy delivering beer and soft drinks to the community center,” he said. “He told me that he had offered this to Sasuke so that you could spend the morning together.”

“Thanks,” Naruto answered. “We made good use of the time.”

“I hope so.” The man embraced him and kissed him on his cheeks. It was a tight embrace, tighter than Karin's: the men from the gay community drew the line between love and friendship at a different place than other people. Naruto had got used to it quickly (it had been more difficult for him to accept that people embraced Sasuke and kissed him on his cheeks too), and now he enjoyed it: bathing in people's affections. He allowed the man to lay his arm around his shoulder when they entered the living-room.

“This is what my husband told me to give you as a a birthday present,” he said, passing Naruto a small parcel. It contained a CD with the songs of the most recent European Song contest. “And this is from me to give you some inspiration.”

It was a book called “more fun in bed,” and in smaller letters it said “for boys”. Naruto had seen it in the shop windows of book stores in Music Town, and he had also seen two similar ones from the same series: “for girls” and “for boys and girls”. He opened it, and while he had no time to read the text he could see that it contained plenty of cartoons, all about what might go wrong when you had sex. 

“I know you`re not into photos as you're still young and attractive yourselves” , the man said. “But I thought you might like this.”

“We'll read it together,” Naruto replied. 

“What is it?” Karin asked. “May I have a look too?” 

Naruto passed her the book: he could not go on reading anyway, because the door bell rang again. This time it were some of their classmates from the training center of the police. They had managed to find a present that was neither embarrassing nor useless: a woollen cap of the kind that was now fashionable in Music Town among teenagers. Also some of the young people from the riverside turned up and they had brought something that was even cooler. Leather bracelets with a lot of metal on them, and a leather collar, which Naruto, as he well knew, could wear at the riverside, where it would just be considered cool, but not at the gay community center where it would designate him as Sasuke's sub.

For some minutes no new guests arrived, meaning that Naruto had time to help Sasuke prepare the food, and to listen to his guests' conversation. They got along better than it was to be expected: one of the girls from their class asked the young women from the riverside about their piercings, because she wanted one herself. The book with funny cartoons about people failing at having sex was passed around and then ended up in Karin's hands again, and she read out the speech bubbles to Kakashi. Only Sakura, who was about the same age as the girls from Sasuke's and Naruto's class, had difficulties to join the conversation. Even when she was asked about her pink hair and what she used to dye it she only answered that it was her hair's natural colour and then fell silent again. She kept looking at Sasuke and Naruto.

“You've changed a lot,” she said to Naruto. 

“You think so?”

“I think so too,” Karin joined in. “He has changed a lot since our arrival in Music Town.”

“You're not from here either?” 

“They arrived some six weeks after my own arrival here,” Naruto explained.

“You've become more serious,” Sakura continued. 

“Well, I've encountered a lot of new things in Music Town. I've learnt a lot. I can look back at a lot of new experiences.”

“Good experiences,” Sasuke added, lowering his arm that was lying around Naruto's shoulders so that it came to lie around his waist, and caressing Naruto's belly. 

“Yes, having sex with you definitely turned me more serious.”

Sasuke stiffened. Naruto turned around to embrace him in his turn, knowing he had hurt him.

“It's okay,” he said. “I enjoy it a lot.” He kissed Sasuke's shoulder, or rather the soft spot where neck and shoulder met. 

“I like it when you look serious,” Sasuke said. “I also like it when you're laughing, but I think you look happier when you`re serious.”

Naruto did not try to understand this. He had to break up the embrace anyway, as the doorbell rang again. This time it was the mailman. He had a large letter for Naruto, with the logo of Uzumaki flutes and woodpipes on it. It contained a voucher for clarinet or saxophone lessons, and a promise for an instrument if he liked the lessons and wanted to continue them. It also continued a postcard with some funny pictures. 

We wish you a happy birthday and we hope you'll enjoy playing the clarinet. Visit us soon again, and bring your friend, too! (We've forgotten his name, sorry, but we'll remember when you tell us.) 

It also contained a photo of his mother.

Naruto turned to Sasuke. “You did that, didn't you?” 

“I asked them for a photo, and told them it was your birthday, and of course they asked for the exact date then.”

Naruto embraced him, and kissed him, and then laid his cheek against Sasuke's. 

“It's perfect,” he said, letting his hands wander over Sasuke's back and his belly, as well as this was possible while they were embracing. He kissed him again, this time drawing him into a truly erotic kiss with their mouths open and their tongues touching each other, and both of them getting a bit aroused. Some of their guests watched them, others just continued their conversation as the boys kissing and embracing was something they had seen often enough by now. 

Something on the stove started to smell funny, so Sasuke broke off the embrace in order to see what it was.

Sakura had been among those who had been watching. 

“People sent you a photo of your mother?” she asked. 

“Yes. It turned out that some Uzumaki live in a village nearby. They make woodwind instruments, that's why they sent me a voucher for clarinet lessons.”

He did not feel like telling her how he had tried the various instruments and how saxophones and clarinets had been the ones he liked best.

“They happened to know about my mother,” he continued. “She was a distant relative of their family.”

Sakura listened, taking in the words. 

“It's because I found a photo of your mother too. Or, to be exact, one of the midwives found it. When she heard that you are a friend of mine she gave it to me. It must have been taken a short time after your birth. There's some lines on the back side.” 

She rummaged in her backpack and found an envelope: Naruto took it.

“Thanks a lot,” he said. “I think I want to have a look at it while I am on my own.”


	146. Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three: More Guests

Naruto went to the bedroom. Sasuke put down the pot he had been trying to clean and set out to follow him.

“He said he wanted to be alone,” Sakura said. 

Sasuke just looked at her and then he followed Naruto all the same. He heard the guy from Earth Country explain to Sakura that she did not need to give him or Naruto any advice as to how they should behave towards each other: 

“They've been lovers for a couple of months now,” he said. “They know how to deal with each other. They know when they need each other and when not. Actually they need each other most of the time: I'd go crazy like that, but they manage.”

Sasuke found Naruto sitting on the bed, holding the envelope in his hands. He had not yet opened it. Sasuke sat down next to him, laying his arm around Naruto and caressing his wrist with the other hand. Naruto looked at him and nodded, then he opened the envelope: the picture showed his mother in a light blouse with him as a baby in her arms. Not much of the baby was visible, only his face, but the mother was just as pretty as on the photos he had seen in the flutemaker's photoalbum. Again Naruto was unable to speak a word. Sasuke caressed his back.

“It's as I said: You were an extremely cute baby.”

The child on the photo looked like most newborn babies: very tiny and with a face that was all crumpled. But the mother looked at him with loving eyes, with one arm she held him, with the other he caressed his head.

“I wonder about my father,” Naruto said. 

“He took the photo, I guess,” Sasuke answered after some seconds of thinking. 

He felt very protective of Naruto. He felt very protective of the baby on the photo. Naruto leant against him.

“Your mother wanted to protect you,” Sasuke said. “She wanted to care for you. She loved you.”

Naruto did not answer.

“She would not have wanted the kyuubi sealed into you.”

Naruto still did not say anything.

“You were all cute and tiny. No one should have sealed a monster into you.”

Naruto remained silent. Sasuke kissed his shoulder and caressed his chest and his back.

“I was cute and tiny and helpless and lovable just as any other baby,” Naruto said. “I wasn't a monster. No one should have turned me into a monster.”

“You aren't a monster,” Sasuke replied. 

“I should have been cared for just like any other child.,” Naruto said. “They shouldn't have sealed a monster into me. They shouldn't have turned my early years into hell.”

Again Sasuke kissed his shoulder, not knowing what to say. Naruto drew him into an embrace, resting his head on Sasuke's shoulder. For a long time they held each other, Sasuke tousling Naruto's hair and caressing his back. 

“I would have cared for you,” he said. “I would have protected you.”

It was stupid, of course, because Sasuke had been a baby himself at the time. They kept holding each other until the guy from Earth Country knocked at the bedroom's door.

“Your guests are waiting,” he said. “Also, I wanted to ask you about the girl from Konoha: is she the one whom you wanted to marry Sasuke?” 

Sasuke looked disturbed, and he broke off the embrace. Naruto slowly returned to the present. 

“Not any more,” he said. “Now I want to marry him myself.”

“I think she has understood this by now. You don't need to give a performance just to show her that you're in love. Now it's time to return.”

Naruto tried to get up, but Sasuke remained sitting on the bed, and holding Naruto's hand he prevented him from getting up either.

“You mean it?” he asked. 

“What?” Naruto asked back.

“That you want to marry me.”

“Yes,” Naruto answered, feeling embarrassed and insecure suddenly. “If you want me, I meant.”

Very carefully Sasuke embraced Naruto and rested his head on his shoulder. 

“I aways feared that when you saw Sakura again you'd remember that in reality you're straight.” 

Naruto caressed Sasuke's shoulderblades. “When I was a child I found her pretty,” he said. “But that's got nothing to do with love. My heart always burnt for you, and when you left me it felt as if it would break, and now that you're with me it feels all warm and huge, and the warmth spreads through my body, and I also feel it here.” 

He touched his own genitals with his hands. Sasuke put away Naruto's hand so that he could caress him through the pants with his own hands. He lifted his head and looked into Naruto's eyes and saw the warmth Naruto was talking about, smiled; and seeing him, Naruto smiled in return. Sasuke kissed him, and kissing they forgot the world around them.

Normally people turned away when they kissed as if they were having mouth-to-mouth-sex, giving them the privacy they had not cared to secure for themselves. This time, however, the guy from Earth Country kept staring at them, growing more and more impatient and annoyed. 

“You're too young to marry,” he said. “You just turned seventeen. You'll have to wait at least for a year. And now you return to your guests.”

Finally they broke their embrace and returned to the living-room. They still held hands, and when they sat down next to each other they leant against each other without even being aware of it. The guy from Earth Country frowned at them, but they didn't notice. 

During their absence Suigetsu and Killerbee had arrived, and also Killerbee's girl-friend. Both had brought copies of their newest CD's as birthday presents for Naruto. There was also a woman whom Suigetsu introduced as his fiancée. 

“I need to tell you that I can't follow you any more as my captain,” Suigetsu told Sasuke. “I have a new captain now.” He caressed the woman's belly. “I can't leave her alone with the baby. It's a Houzuki baby who will turn into water occasionally as he can't control the skill yet. He needs a Houzuki to care for him, as only a Houzuki knows how to deal with this.”

“Ah,” Sasuke said, trying to imagine a baby that suddenly turned into a puddle of water.

“So I hope you'll understand that I cannot follow you when you decide to return to Konoha to complete your revenge, or wherever you want to go.” 

“It's okay,” Sasuke said. “Your baby needs you more than I do.”

“You're expecting a child?” Karin said. “Really? That's so cute!”

She opened her arms and embraced Suigetsu's girl-friend, then she caressed her belly.

“I can feel her chakra,” she said. “She has a very intense personality even now.” 

“That would be normal for a Houzuki child,” Suigetsu answered. 

Naruto leant against Sasuke. He felt a bit sad that for them having a child would be much more complicated, but mostly he felt happy for Suigetsu. 

“You'll lend us the child occasionally, won't you?” he said. 

“If you want,” Suigetsu replied. “But first you'll need to learn what to do when the child turns into water.” 

Juugo was the last guest to arrive. “I'm sorry I'm late,” he said. “My girl-friend and I just split up. I thought it would take ten minutes, but then we had to discuss our relationship for several hours.”

Naruto felt shocked. “But you loved her, didn't you?” 

“She could not deal with the real age difference,” Juugo answered. “Having an eighteen-year-old boy-friend when you are fifteen is cool, having a twenty-year-old boy-friend is creepy.”

He looked really grown up by now, taller than Killerbee and with broader shoulders and a wider chest. 

“I no longer go to school. For some time it worked even though I looked a bit older than my classmates. Now I look much older. We try to find something else, preferably some programme for young refugees who've never had a chance to learn anything. It won't be easy, but I'll manage.”

Juugo had spent most of his childhood in Orochimaru's dungeons, Sasuke remembered. 

“Being a child was nice, but only for a few months. After that, it became boring. I am grown up, after all. Behaving like a child can turn into a strain if in reality you are a man. It will be difficult, as I have never learnt how to behave as a grown-up person. My childhood was ruined by Orochimaru, but now it's over and I need to learn to live in Music Town as a grown-up man.” 

“You have friends to help you, don't forget that,” Suigetsu said, touching Juugo's lower arms. 

“We'll help you too,” Naruto added, even though he knew that the educational system of Music Town was quite complicated and that Juugo would need more competent advice than he and Sasuke could offer. Juugo had suffered far worse than he himself, he thought. 

“I have something for you,” Juugo continued. “It's from my fostermothers. They got the impression that you were not happy about the present they gave you yesterday evening.” 

Naruto remembered the kitchen stuff.

“So here's a book they found in their shelf. They thought you might be interested in it.”

He gave the book to Naruto. “Classical texts on nonviolent resistance,” Naruto read. 

“They thought it might give you some inspiration about how to take Danzou out of office.”


	147. Chapter One Hundred Forty-Four: Preparations

The guests stayed for quite a while, but Naruto was not able to listen to their conversation. He burnt to have a chance to read his new book, and he was glad when his guests left.

“We'll see you at tonight's party,” they said.

Sakura and Kakashi remained in the living-room.

“You have a lot of friends in this place,” Sakura said, sounding a bit melancholic. 

“They turned up because it's my birthday,” Naruto replied. “They knew that Sasuke would prepare some fancy food on the occasion.”

“So it's true what they say: in Music Town people are all selfish and only care for their own interest.” 

“They are okay,” Naruto said. “They've helped us a lot, too. Also, half of the people you met weren't natives of Music Town. The most selfish people among our guests were Sasuke's companions who arrived with him at this place a few months ago.”

“People came to visit us because they like Naruto and because they want to honour him on the occasion of his birthday” ,Sasuke said. “They brought presents too, if you haven't noticed.” He felt angry at Sakura for speaking in a derogative way of people in Music Town. “It's a common misconception that people here are selfish. They aren't. They just think that avoiding wars is a better way to protect your friends than giving your life to save theirs.”

He sat down. Preparing food and caring for all their guests had been quite a bit of work. Naruto had now managed to turn around the book and read the back cover. 

Throughout history, and all over the world, people in a state of oppression have used nonviolent tactics against their oppressors. Most of the time they reinvented them from scratch, sometimes inspired by people from other places or former times. Only in the last century theories of non-violence have been developed, collecting and systematizing these tactics and evaluating the results that were effected by them, providing explanations why non-violent strategies work, and actually work better than violent resistance, and developing guidelines about which tactics will work in which kind of situation. This book assembles seminal texts from the most famous proponents of non-violent resistance as an inspiration for all who want to turn this world into a better place.

“As I said, there'll be a party tonight,” Sasuke continued. “I'll need to leave soon in order to prepare the room and look after the food and see that everything is in place.”

Naruto felt his nervousness. Apparently talking to Sakura and Kakashi while he, Naruto, was reading was not how Sasuke wanted to spend the afternoon

“I guess you want to talk to Naruto. I guess he longs for news about his friends in Konoha.”

Actually what Naruto most longed for was time to read his book.

“I don't want you to leave me again,” he said. “I have understood now what you were doing on your own during all these evenings when you came home late, and it's okay, still I would have preferred you to stay with me and to include me in the preparations for my birthday. Next year I want us to organize this together. I don't care about surprises. I care about having you at my side. And now I want you to stay with me and to talk to Kakashi and Sakura so that I can listen to your conversation while I am reading.”

Sasuke felt hurt because he considered the idea stupid, and he felt hurt that Naruto did not appreciate what he had done for him, but then he reminded himself that Naruto had been happy about their guests, and that he had been moved and touched by the way people cared about him. It would not have been the same if he had known about it beforehand. Also the thought of Naruto reading warmed his heart. Unlike most people he considered Naruto most beautiful when he was serious, lost in his dreams of peace.

“I can't stay,” he said. “There's still a lot of work to be done. You can join me of course. You may read, and I can look at you every now and then.”

Naruto smiled: It was the reflection of Sasuke's smile, but Sasuke was not aware of it.

“That's what we'll do,” he said. He turned to Sakura and Kakashi. “You may join us, or you may take a walk around Music Town. I can give you a map of town, if you want, and tell you about the most interesting places.”

“It's not necessary,” Sakura answered. “We bought a map of town in order to find your place.”

“We can show you Music Town tomorrow afternoon,” Sasuke said. “We have some time off then. In the evening there'll be a dance tournament we participate in.”

“I thought tomorrow was Sunday,” Sakura said. “I thought everyone had time off then.”

“Almost everyone. There's exceptions, and tomorrow we happen to be one of the exceptions.”

Sakura looked irritated.

“There's going to be a parade here in town. The police is needed to maintain the public order during the parade.”

“A parade? I thought there was no military in Music Town.”

“It's a civilian parade. All the relevant groups of Music Town have prepared wagons, or organized a squad of people on foot. They walk through the streets, and the citizens cheer for them.”

“And why is the police needed on such an occasion? You don't expect any crimes or riots, do you?” 

“There's always the occasional pickpocket,” Sasuke replied. “Though mostly it's our job to keep kids from climbing over the barricades, and to have an eye on drunkards.”

“But you're ninja. Why do you accepts petty jobs as these?” 

“We aren't ninja any more. We are policemen in training.”

“But why don't they give you jobs that match your capacity? Why don't they make use of your ninja powers?” 

“Most of them are forbidden here. Also they are useless against local criminals. Here, only petty criminals, those who are stupid or badly educated, use violence. The real ones, those who cause great harm, don't sully their hands: they use tricks or manipulations, they forge documents and if nothing of this is enough they pay others to murder their opponents.” He paused. “Actually the situation is not that different from the situation in Konoha. Against people like Danzou, or the man who pretended to be Madara, ninja skills are useless too. Here people teach me skills that are useful against the real criminals, the ones who pull the strings behind the scene.”

He stared at Sakura, proud and defiant and a bit angry. Naruto wondered whether he was using some trick against her, but he had not activated his Sharingan. After some time Sakura lowered her eyes.

“So now I will leave to prepare the birthday party at the community center, and Naruto will come with me so that we can be with each other. Have you decided whether you will join us or whether you will take a walk around Music Town?”

“We'll come with you,” Kakashi said. “I have brought something to read too. I think both of us need some rest.”

They went to the community center. The husband of the guy from Earth Country and also some other men had arrived before them and were already busy decorating the room. When they saw the group they approached them to wish Naruto a happy birthday and a wonderful last year of his youth before he turned eighteen and was considered a grown-up in Music Town. They all kissed him on his cheeks and held him in their arms for a couple of seconds, only the husband of the guy from Earth Country held him for more than a minute.

“Sasuke told me you suspected me of having sex with him,” he said. “But I assure you: there was nothing. I just helped him organize the party. I would not dream of destroying a love as yours. I wish you a lot of happiness with each other for many years to come.”

“Thanks, and also thanks for what you did for the two of us,” Naruto answered. 

Sasuke was welcomed too, but only with the casual embraces that were the usual way of greeting in the community. He also introduced Sakura and Kakashi, and they were welcomed, but people sensed that embraces were not appropriate.

There was still a lot of work to do: tables needed to be moved, drinks needed to be carried to the kitchen, and plates and glasses were put on the tables. Together with the DJ they found the best places for the loudspeakers, and put up a lot of ribbons in the colours of the rainbow. Sasuke had even brought a banner saying “Happy birthday, Naruto.”

Naruto was not allowed to help. “You find yourself a chair and read,” Sasuke said. “That's what you came for, isn't it?” 

Naruto nodded. He was overwhelmed by the trouble Sasuke had taken upon himself in order to organize this party for him. He wanted to be near him by working side by side with him on the decoration, but even more he longed to read his book. 

“Next year I'll help you with this,” he said. “And when it's your birthday I'll organize a party that's just as great as this one. You'll have a perfect cake with eighteen candles, and no one will give you any stupid presents.”

Sasuke embraced and kissed him, and then he gently made him sit down. He took the book out of Naruto's bag and placed it in his hands. They smiled at each other and kissed again.

“I didn't know you enjoyed reading books,” Sakura said, sounding irritated and skeptical.

“I do,” Naruto answered. “In Music Town I've found books that are worth reading.”

He had now managed to read the first page of the introduction. He was really curious about the book. Kakashi saved him by taking his copy of Icha-Icha out of his pocket and starting to read. Sakura withdrew, understanding that both of them wanted to remain undisturbed. Sasuke set to his work, occasionally looking at Naruto because he loved to watch him read, and then Naruto looked up from his book, smiling at him. 

It was the husband of the guy from Earth Country who resolved the situation, telling Sakura to help them decorate the room. With time Sasuke managed to cooperate with her, but he remained stiff and tense.


	148. Chapter One Hundred Forty-Five: Sentimental Rubbish

Naruto had to put away his book when the first guests arrived. Sasuke had made clear that everyone was invited, and a lot of people had accepted the invitation, not only men, but also a couple of lesbian women. Naruto was drowned in embraces and kisses and small presents. He soon felt as if he was in some kind of trance, no longer realizing whom he kissed and embraced, just enjoying the love everyone showed to him. After the first glass of champagne he switched to orange juice, realizing that he was a bit tipsy from only one glass of champagne, but also drunk with happiness. 

When the first wave of guests had taken possession of the room the DJ began to play, and people began to dance. The man who had last wished Naruto a happy birthday led him to some empty spot in the middle of the room to dance with him, and when the dance was over Naruto started moving from one partner to the next. Even the women danced with him, some of the lesbians insisting on leading him as they had never learnt to follow. Some of his classmates had arrived now too, and they also wanted to dance with him, but only the girls. The people from the riverside did not dance. They explained that in their eyes a series of pre-arranged movements had nothing to do with dancing. To them, dancing meant to express freely what you felt while you listened to the music. They admitted however that Naruto danced well and that he was a pleasure to watch. 

“You improvise a bit, don't you?” they asked. 

“Normally I don't when I dance with strangers,” Naruto replied. “Only when they make mistakes and I have to make up for them. When I dance with Sasuke we sometimes improvise, but then we are able to respond to each other's improvised steps. We're both fighters, and fighters have to move in unforeseen ways, and they need to defend themselves against unforeseen attacks.”

His friends looked confused, but Naruto did not care. It had suddenly occurred to him that he had not seen Sasuke for quite some time. He got nervous – he still was not able to cope with not knowing where Sasuke was, even though he knew that his nervousness was irrational as Sasuke must be somewhere in the building. At least he knew now how to find him: he asked the husband of the guy from Earth Country for information.

“He'll be back soon,” the man answered. “You don't follow each other to the bathroom, do you?” 

“We don't, but normally we inform each other when we have to go. Also he has been absent for quite a while now, hasn't he?” 

“There's a reason. You'll see.”

Another surprise, Naruto thought, then he saw Sasuke enter through one of the side doors. He had dressed up as a girl, mostly by using a lot of make-up, and instead of making his hair stand up with gel he was wearing a hairband to keep it down. 

He did not wear an evening gown as Naruto had done during his crossdressing adventures, only a blouse and a short, narrow skirt with tights, and though his shoes were very feminine they were no high heels. He had not stuffed out his hips, he had been modest with artificial breasts, and his body did not look like a woman's at all, but his face did. It was obvious that he felt extremely embarrassed about his looks and that he was glad when Naruto approached him.

“You're so pretty,” Naruto said, caressing Sasuke's cheeks. “But you're pretty when you're dressed as a boy too. You're prettiest without any clothes at all.”

Sasuke stiffened and tensed, but when Naruto kissed him he softened again. He felt safer with Naruto at his side.

“Everyone has danced with me except you,” Naruto said. “So now I won't let you go again.”

Sasuke nodded. He too longed to dance with Naruto. 

“I'll lead,” Naruto said. “That goes for granted when you are dressed up as a girl.”

“I'll lead,” Sasuke replied. “I always lead. Also we still need to practise our sequences.”

Naruto knew he had to give in. Dressing up as a girl had been a huge step for Sasuke, and he had done it to do him a favour. He was extremely cute, he thought. Other people were of the same opinion: they approached them to compliment Sasuke on his looks: 

“You're really beautiful,” they said. “If I were straight I'd fall in love with you.”

They kissed Sasuke on his cheeks and Sasuke had to play along, even though he felt extremely uncomfortable. He was glad when they could start to dance. He offered his left hand to Naruto, Naruto laid his right hand into it, and then he led him into the rumba. Slowly he started to feel at ease again: this was how he enjoyed dancing, being in charge and doing his best to lead in a gentle and responsible way so that Naruto could show off his beauty and his extroversion. Later, when they had a break between dances and talked to people again, he also discovered that after some initial stupid remarks people treated him as they always did, and that they still respected him as the one who was in charge of the party. 

“I have dressed up for you, not for anyone else,” he told Naruto. 

“You did well,” Naruto answered. He considered how much Sasuke had changed: how he had softened, how he had learnt to give himself in love and when they were dancing, but also how he had remained himself, strong and courageous. He thought of him lying spread out on their bed ready to receive him as his lover, he considered how Sasuke had turned out to be gentle and caring when he was the active partner. His heart warmed, and he felt aroused just by thinking of Sasuke. He embraced Sasuke and felt how he relaxed in his arms (he had still felt tense from his uncertainty in women's clothes) and how he then got active again, returning Naruto's caresses. 

The artificial breasts got in their way, and Naruto removed them. It involved taking off Sasuke's shirt, which was a bit audacious even on an occasion as this one. It made Sasuke look really weird with his hairband and all his make-up and his very masculine body, but they did not care. For some time they embraced and kissed, forgetting the people around them. 

They were interrupted by a voice from the stage: 

“As some of you may know Naruto has been a member of our band for quite some time now. He's our frontman and singer, and also he normally does the talking and announces the songs we play. He enjoys being in the spotlight, and talking to the audience is the essence of his life. The rest of us are rather shy, so we are grateful that Naruto does the talking, but now I have to speak, as Naruto cannot speak on his own birthday. So I ask you to excuse any deficiencies from my side as I'm not used to speaking in public.”

Naruto wondered what would follow.

“So as it's Naruto's birthday today we're going to play for him. Sasuke, his boy-friend, whom you can see next to our birthday child, kissing him – oh, now they've stopped – has given us some sheet music with Naruto's favorite songs, the ones he sings in the shower when no one is listening. Now he shall sing them for all of you, and we will accompany him.”

“What? You arranged this?” Naruto said, kissing Sasuke, not caring that just at this moment everyone was watching them. 

“Go ahead!” Sasuke said. “They are waiting for you.” 

The band had brought Naruto's guitar. Naruto needed the sheet music even though it were songs he sang under the shower: he tended to forget the text. He felt extremely moved: these were the songs he loved best, even though most people in Music Town did not consider them real music. The man who had spoken took counsel with him, explaining to him where he had to start (though this was also in the notes), then the band began to play. Naruto fell in: he was not used to being accompanied with these songs, but it was absolutely great: as if the instruments were carrying his voice. With the first verse he was still uncertain, but then he put his whole heart into the second verse.

Sasuke stood up in order to be better able to listen. (He had put on his shirt again, but not the artificial breasts.) Kakashi appeared next to him, followed by Karin, much to Sasuke's surprise. From the other side the guy from Earth Country approached them.

“I had no idea that Naruto had such a talent,” Kakashi said. “This is just wonderful. I've never been touched by music in such a way. Now I understand why you like it here: if this is what you learn in Music Town.”

“Most importantly we've learnt to dance,” Sasuke said.

“I saw that,” Kakashi replied. “It looks interesting.”

“They are extremely good at it,” the guy from Earth Country said, “Particularly if you take into account that they've started dancing only half a year ago. Their only problem is that one can always see whether they just had an argument.” He turned to Sasuke. “So avoid arguing with Naruto tomorrow. Make certain that he has a wonderful night, then you'll win the tournament.”

“He's having a wonderful night, isn't he?” Kakashi said.

“That's not what he's talking about,” Sasuke replied. “I guess it will be too late when we get home tonight, and tomorrow morning we have to work, but in the afternoon we have some time off before the tournament starts. We may make use of that time.”

“Do so – then the judges won't be able to resist you.”

Apparently Kakashi still had no idea what they were talking about. He turned his attention to Naruto again, who was now singing one of the songs about a young soldier who died in war before he had ever kissed a girl.

“This is so beautiful,” Kakashi said again. “I'd never have thought that Naruto could sing a sad song and put so much emotion into it.”

“He still needs to learn a lot,” the guy from Earth Country said. “His voice is without training, but what's worst is his taste in music, or rather his lack of taste. He still needs to learn that the songs he has chosen can hardly be called music.”

“What else are they then?” Kakashi asked. 

“They're commercial sentimental rubbish we sell to the ninja countries. Now here's again a song about a girl waiting for her lover who's a soldier.” 

“I like it,” Kakashi said. “It's fitting that Naruto sings a song about the suffering war brings to all of us. We've all read the preface of the Gutsy Ninja he has written, and we all share his desire for peace.”

“It's all cheesy. It's all about the suffering war brings to us, but there's nothing about ending war.”

“You know, it was me who encouraged Naruto to release a new edition of the Gutsy Ninja,” Karin said as if the man had not spoken. “And it was me who persuaded the editors to publish it.”

She smiled at Kakashi, proud as if she had written the Gutsy Ninja herself. Kakashi smiled back. 

“It's so rare to find a man who reads Icha-Icha,” she continued. “Mostly it's only women.”

“Because the books are stupid” Sasuke said. “Men prefer intelligent books.”

“Actually most men prefer pictures to books,” the guy from Earth Country said. “Apparently you haven't found out about it yet, because with Naruto at your side you don't need any pictures.”

It was not entirely true: Sasuke did not seek out any picuters but if other people showed him photos, or if he stumbled upon them by accident, he did not turn away.

“It's got nothing to do with intelligence. I'm certain your former teacher is a very intelligent man, even though he enjoys reading Icha-Icha.”

“Anyway, I want to tell you that Karin and I will leave soon,” Kakashi said. “She has generously offered me that I might stay at her place tonight. I guess that this will solve some problems for you: Accommodating Sakura must be difficult enough.”

“Sakura will sleep on the sofa, and you can sleep on the floor,” Sasuke said. “Really, there aren't any problems.” 

“I guess your friend Karin will have something better for him to sleep on than the floor,” the guy from Earth Country said.

“But she won't leave him alone when he's sleeping. I know her! She's worse than Sakura. I cannot let him go with her! It's irresponsible. At least I need to warn him!”

All three grown-ups looked quite embarrassed. 

“Your teacher is a grown-up man, and a powerful ninja in the bargain,” the guy from Earth Country said. “I guess he's able to protect himself.”

“Ninja arts are useless against Karin,” Sasuke replied. “She's no fighter, and it would be unfair to use them against her.” 

“I'm certain that your teacher can protect himself without employing violence,” the guy from Earth Country repeated.

They had to stop their discussion as Naruto started another song, and they had to listen to him. When the song ended, Kakashi and Karin had left.


	149. Chapter One Hundred Forty-Six: Hero

Naruto knew quite well that people in Music Town did not think well of his favorite songs and that they just indulged him because it was his birthday. He knew that a handful of songs were enough, and that he must not give a concert. Hearing people cheer for him, and hearing some of them say that maybe these songs weren't as cheesy as they had formerly thought them to be, was enough for him. 

He was out of breath, he was in some kind of trance: drunk with happiness. He had been in that state from the moment the party had started. Now he sobered up a bit: he put away the guitar and took the microphone. 

“I want to thank you all,” he said. “No one has ever celebrated my birthday before. I didn't even miss it, as I had no idea how it's like to be the center of your own birthday party. Now I discover it's just wonderful. I want to thank you that you've come to celebrate with me.”

He paused, his eyes searching for Sasuke. He found him, and even across a distance of several metres the warmth and happiness in Naruto's eyes were almost too much to bear for Sasuke.

“But most of all I want to thank my friend and lover, who has organized this party and kept it secret from me, because he wanted it to be a surprise.”

People looked at Sasuke, who felt embarrassed. Naruto made a gesture that invited him to join him on stage. Sasuke hesitated: he did not want to present himself to everyone in women's clothes. He had dressed up for Naruto, not for anyone else. The guy from Earth Country, who was still standing next to him pushed him forward.

“Naruto's waiting,” he said. “You can't disappoint him now.”

Sasuke went forward, highly aware that everyone was looking at him. He had wanted this to be Naruto's party, with Naruto in the spotlight, he had not planned to be in the spotlight himself. He entered the stage, he saw Naruto beaming at him and opening his arms for him, and he forgot about himself, he just responded to Naruto's gesture and opened his own arms for Naruto and embraced him. For some seconds they held each other, their cheeks resting against each other, then Naruto started to kiss Sasuke's cheeks, and then his mouth, too, but only very carefully as neither of them wanted to get aroused on stage. Naruto dissolved the embraces and turned to his guests.

“He has acknowledged me as a human being when I was a child, even though everyone else considered me a monster. He taught me to behave like a human being.”

“Don't be stupid,” Sasuke said. “You were always human, and you always behaved like a human being. We have met quite a couple of kids here who behave just like you did when you were a child, and no one considers them monsters. They're considered a bit difficult, but nonetheless they're human children who need to be cared for.”

He spoke to Naruto, not the audience, still a couple of his words got amplified by the microphone. People looked confused. 

Naruto did not answer to Sasuke but continued speaking to his guests: “Now he has organized a party for me so that I could celebrate my birthday just like any other person here in Music Town.”

No one had told Naruto that people in Music Town celebrated their eighteenth, not their seventeenth birthday with a party of this order of magnitude. Also no one had told him that ordinary teenagers did not deliver speeches on their own birthday.

“I consider myself really lucky that you are my lover now,” he concluded his speech. 

His band, understanding that people wanted to dance again, started to play. Naruto led Sasuke from the stage: people made room for them so that they could dance. It was an English Waltz, and when Naruto opened his arms Sasuke accepted that this time he would follow. He still needed to recover from the scene on stage. He was also glad when after the first round some other couples joined them so that people did not only watch him and Naruto. 

They left the area for dancing when after a few dances the music changed to a Slow Fox which they had never learnt to dance. Holding each other in their arms and kissing was easier when they were not dancing. It was also easier to kiss and embrace when no one tried to talk to them, which, however, was exactly what people did from the moment they had sat down. 

“What were you talking about?” they asked. “Did people really consider you a monster when you were a child?” 

“I was the kyuubi's jinchuuriki,” Naruto said. “People feared it might get out of control.”

“People did not see that he was still a child, even though the kyuubi was sealed into him,” Sasuke said, laying his arm around Naruto's shoulders. “They did not see that he suffered from loneliness just as any other kid without family.”

“And you saw it?” 

“I saw it, but after my family's death I was too busy with my own suffering to do anything about it. And before my family were murdered my mother had warned me against making friends with Naruto. She told me that people might consider it an attempt to secure the kyuubi for the Uchiha clan.”

“Did she say this?” Naruto asked. “You never told me about it.” 

“I had forgotten her words. The scholar we talked to at the university brought them back to my mind. She said this when we had just entered the academy. I wondered about you, and talked about you to my mother, and she warned me against approaching you because it might be interpreted the wrong way.”

“Still you accepted me as your friend and as a human being when we were put into a team.”

“My clan was already dead at the time. Following my mother's advice had not saved them.” 

“Still after Iruka you were the second person to acknowledge me as a human being. You shared your food with me during Kakashi's bell test.”

People were still listening to them, trying to figure out the meaning of their words. Naruto had to explain to them what Kakashi's bell test had been about. 

“How old were you then?” they asked. 

“Twelve,” Sasuke answered. 

“And you really stood by him when everyone else despised Naruto and considered him less than human?” 

“He did,” Naruto said. 

“That's quite an achievement at that age” people said. 

“He would also have sacrificed his life in order to save mine” Naruto continued, but this did not make a great impression. Situations when you had to sacrifice your life in order to save another person were beyond the scope of experience of people in Music Town.

“Standing by someone who is despised by everyone, and risking that you will be despised too takes quite some courage, and also an independent mind and a capacity to judge for yourself. Most children will conform to their peer group, or follow their teacher's words. Most grown-ups will conform to their group and their superiors, actually. Standing up to them and sticking to your own judgement is quite a feat.”

It was the kind of heroism people in Music Town knew and understood, Sasuke thought. They had no idea what it meant to fight and to kill or be killed, but they knew what it meant to take position against your group. Sharing his food with Naruto at the age of twelve turned him into a hero according to the standards of Music Town, just as it had secured him Naruto's love and gratitude.

He felt dizzy, as he had felt when he had stood next to Naruto on the stage, but not as embarrassed. He had always seen himself as a fighter, and this was what he had excelled at. He loved Music Town, but it had not always been easy for him to accept that what he was good at did not count here. It had not been easy to accept that Naruto was better at most things that were considered important here. Hearing that his actions as a twelve-year-old turned him into a hero in the eyes of people in Music Town came quite as a surprise. 

“Sasuke never cared what other people were thinking,” Naruto said, laying his arm around Sasuke's shoulders, and somehow people understood that now the discussion was over. Also, one of the young women from the riverside called them to look after Sakura. 

“She is tired,” she said. “I think she wants to go home.” 

The boys were at a loss. Both were enjoying the party, and neither was in a mood to go home.

“I can accompany her,” Naruto said. 

“You can't,” the young woman replied. “It's your birthday party. You have to stay.”

They arrived where Sakura was sitting. She had never learnt to dance, and she had not managed to associate with other people here. Some of the young women who had already met her in the morning had pitied her and drawn her into a conversation, but now she was tired.

“I can go home with you,” Sasuke said. “But I'll have to return later, because I have to see that everything is tidied up before I return the keys to the caretaker of the community center.”

Naruto heard clearly that Sasuke said this from a sense of duty, and out of pity for Sakura, and that he would have preferred to stay. Sakura heard it too. 

“You're happy here,” she said. “I don't want to spoil the party for you.”

“I'll accompany her home,” one of the young women said. “Just give me your keys.” 

They were like this in Music Town, Sasuke thought: always looking for pragmatic solutions. 

“I can go to your place on my own,” Sakura said. “I am a ninja myself: I don't need anyone to protect me. Just give me your keys.” 

Neither of the boys had thought of protecting her. (There was nothing to protect her against in Music Town.) They had just wanted to be polite, both of them having a bad conscience because they had not spent any time with her. 

“You're tired, and you don't know the place,” the young woman said. “It's easy to lose one's way in the dark. Just give me your keys.”

Sasuke gave the keys to Sakura. He felt weird.

“Now you can't get home without me,” Naruto said. “Now you're bound to me.”

“You're bound to me,” Sasuke said. “You'll have to stay with me until the party is over and until everyone has left. You'll have to help me sweep the floor and carry the tables to their original places.”

“With pleasure,” Naruto replied, drawing Sasuke closer to himself, so that their hips bumped into each other, and then kissing him on his cheeks. He was not aware of what he was doing, because this was how he always behaved, and people in the gay community accepted it (making allowances for him and Sasuke because they were young and cute), their new classmates had got used to it by now, and their friends from the riverside showed their affection just like Sasuke and Naruto did, if they happened to have a partner. Only Sakura's irritation made him realize what he was doing, and that he hurt her. 

“You can always come home on your own,” she told Sasuke. “Just ring the bell. I'll open the door.”

“Rather go to bed,” Sasuke said. “The party will last well into the morning.”

“You must be tired,” Naruto added. “All the time I forget that you spent a couple of days on the road, traveling to Music Town. It must have been an exhausting journey. I'm sorry that I don't have more time to spend with you. It's just that the party could not be canceled, and this morning's guest could not be disinvited.”

“It's okay,” Sakura answered. “I'm sorry I forgot about your birthday. If I had remembered I would have waited until tomorrow.”

“Don't say that! It's great that you came today. It's wonderful that you joined us to celebrate my birthday. I could not have wished for a better surprise. Now take some rest. Tomorrow we'll have time to spend together. Then we can talk, and we can show you the town.”

Sakura stood up, and the young woman got up with her. She smiled at both boys, but her smile was rather sad. 

“See you tomorrow,” she said.


	150. Chapter One Hundred Fifty: Hold On!

Sasuke and Naruto were still leaning heavily against each other, their arms around each other's shoulders. 

“Can I have a look at the document?” Naruto asked.

Sakura passed it to him, and he and Sasuke read it together. 

“I had no idea that there might have been the possibility of being taken in by another family,” Naruto said. 

“Why not?” one of the women said. “That's what people have done everywhere and at every time when there was a child without parents. It's the most natural thing to do, isn't it?”

“Not in Konoha.”

“In Konoha probably too: just as everywhere else.”

Naruto caressed Sasuke's hands. “We might have grown up as brothers,” he said.

Sasuke embraced him and then kissed him deeply for more than a minute, not caring that people were watching them. He felt Naruto's despair.

“It was not fate that you grew up in loneliness,” he said. “It was people.”

Again he kissed Naruto's cheeks. “Now I understand my mother's warning that I should keep at a safe distance from you. It was stupid all the same: My clan got killed anyway. I should not have listened to her.”

“We might have been friends much earlier. We might have been brothers,” Naruto repeated. 

“See it like this,” one of the women said. “If you had been raised as brothers you could not be lovers now.”

“Why not?” Naruto asked. 

“It would be incest.” 

“Not for us!” Naruto embraced Sasuke and kissed him. “If it had not been for Danzou we would have been together for all our lives. There would not have been years of separation.”

“If it had not been for Danzou you'd have been raised by your own parents. We would have become friends in the academy or even on the playground.”

Naruto took up the documents again. “Your mother was friends with my mother,” he said. “She gives this as a reason why she wanted to take me in. They would have met on the playground and watched us play, just as all mothers do. In the sandbox we would have become friends.”

He caressed Sasuske's hair, and again they kissed without caring about the people around them. Slowly Juugo's fostermothers and Sakura left the living-room, not wanting to disturb them. The children followed.

It took both of them some time to calm down. They knew it would take them more than an afternoon to digest the information. When they felt ready they dissolved their embrace and followed their friends to the kitchen. 

“We want to go home now,” Sasuke said. “We did not get much sleep last night, and we need some time to rest before the dance tournament starts. We also need to change.”

“You don't need to rest, do you?” Sakura said, staring at him with wide eyes. “You're the most powerful ninja of our generation.”

“When they say they want to rest they don't mean the same thing as other people,” one of the women said. “It's best if you stay with us: you won't want to listen to what they're doing. We'll meet again at the tournament!”

“Yes! See you then!” Naruto replied. 

They went home silently, their arms around each other. When he saw a bookshop Naruto went inside to buy a newspaper – the one where Sasuke's own article would be published the next day. When they arrived at their own place they prepared some tea and then sat down on the sofa, cuddled against each other. Naruto opened the newspaper so that they could read together. 

Apparently the conflict was quite in the open by now. Hinata had announced in public that she, and with her the entire Hyuuga clan, would protect Kurenai and her child. Danzou's answer had been that from now on he'd consider the Hyuuga clan traitors. There were photos of ANBU positioned around the grounds of the Hyuuga clan, threatening to attack and take Kurenai's child by force, and there were also photos of members of the Hyuuga clan, preparing to defend the child. 

“They'll be attacked and killed,” Naruto said. “And the kid will be raised as an orphan, just like Sai. Or there'll be a civil war.”

“Maybe Danzou's opponents will win that war,” Sasuke replied. 

Naruto got up to look for pen and paper. “I'll write to Hinata,” he said. 

Sasuke followed him with his eyes. He accepted that Naruto sat down at the big table, but he watched him anxiously while he was writing, and when he saw that the letter was finished he sat down next to Naruto to read it.

Naruto was not certain whether he approved of this. His feelings towards Hinata were complicated, and the fact that she had been in love with him still turned their relationship awkward. Now he admired her for standing up against Danzou. He would have preferred not to let Sasuke have a share in this relationship, but sensing that Sasuke was jealous he allowed him to read the letter: 

Dear Hinata, 

Sakura and Kakashi have arrived here safely, and they told us about how you offered protection to Kurenai and her child. My heart and all my thoughts are with you, and with Kurenai and her child. Hold on: you will succeed. There's just one thing you must not do, and this is that you must not employ violence. It may seem absurd to you, just as it first seemed absurd to me, but this is because we are ninja and because we were raised in ignorance of what people in the rest of the world know: you can defeat your oppressor without taking resort to violence, and your victory will be more certain like that than if you take up arms to fight him. If you are courageous and ready to stand up for what you believe in, but refuse to hurt anyone, all but the most cruel-hearted people will admire you. People will unite behind you, and Danzou's ANBU and Root won't be able to fight. It works – it worked more than once in the countries beyond the ninja countries, and there's no reason why it shouldn't work here, too. 

Love, Naruto.

Sasuke put down the letter. “You tell her to sacrifice herself for Kurenai's baby,” he said. “You can't do that.” 

He took the pen and added another line to the letter: 

Hold on! We'll be with you soon.

Sasuke. 

Naruto looked at him. Sasuke had felt a bit insecure while he had written the line, but the question in Naruto's eyes reassured him.

“I mean it,” he said. “They've told us more than once to stay here in Music Town, as our presence in Konoha would make their situation more complicated, as then they'd have to protect and hide us from Danzou. But now their situation can't get more complicated than it is.”

Naruto took some time to digest Sasuke's words and to understand their implications. “When shall we leave?” he asked.

“We should stick to our plan to publish Sakura's documents,” Sasuke replied. “We can't leave immediately.”

Naruto nodded. “We have to do for them here what can be done only here.” 

“And we can still dance the tournament.”

“We can. That's what you dreamt of since we met here in Music Town, isn't it?”

“It is. But this is only because at the time I did not dare to dream of having sex with you.”

Naruto smiled. He caressed Sasuke's hair and cheeks, and then he kissed him on his mouth. Sasuke responded by opening his mouth, and by caressing Naruto's naked back under his shirt.

Naruto broke off the kiss, smiling: he led Sasuke to their bedroom, and made him lie on his back, then he knelt over him and just looked at him. He was very much in love now, full of gratitude for what Sasuke had just offered to him. He was beaming, and Sasuke smiled back at him, and his smiled turned him unbelievably beautiful. Slowly Naruto kissed him again, and then he started to unbutton Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke did the same to him. They helped each other take off their shirts and then continued to caress each other: They had been a couple for quite some time now, and still to Naruto it felt like a miracle that a good-looking man like Sasuke had fallen in love with him, but now he thought that Sasuke was not just good-looking but beautiful, and that it was his beautiful soul that turned his body beautiful. He would not have cared if Sasuke had had a belly, or an ugly scar – he would have caressed him all the same just because he was Sasuke. 

“We'll grow old together”; he said. “We'll grow old and wrinkly, and fat or thin, whatever happens to us.”

Sasuke's smile grew even warmer. “I take this as a promise,” he said. “Don't get yourself killed before you're old.” 

“I won't,” Naruto said, continuing to caress Sasuke while Sasuke's hands wandered over his body.

“You're beautiful,” Sasuke said. “Did I ever tell you that you're most beautiful when you're reading?” 

“A couple of times. You don't want me to read now, do you?” 

“No. It's just that you look like that now, too, all serious.”

“You want me to remain serious while we're having sex?” 

Sasuke started to unbutton Naruto's pants, and to pull them down. He smiled when he saw Naruto's boxers, even though by now he had got used to Naruto's fancy for colourful boxers and accepted it as part of what Naruto was. He pulled the boxers down, too.

“You can't remain serious for long, can you?,” he said. “It's just not possible.”

He was laughing – a silent laughter that originated in his belly and was barely audible. Naruto laughed too, and his laughter was deep and full and from his belly too: a laughter from pure happiness.

“That's not fair,” he said. “How shall I remain serious when you laughing?” 

He opened Sasuke's zipper now too and undressed him completely. He kissed him and lay on him, naked skin on naked skin. Sasuke moved a bit, cradling him. Naruto supported himself on his hands, and Sasuke caressed his ass. They were going to have sex eventually, but Naruto wanted to extend this moment of anticipation. He could not have been happier than he was now.

“We could have been friends from the sandbox,” he said. “I have met some people who have been best friends from the time when they still wore diapers. I've even talked to a couple who got engaged in the sandbox and married twenty years later. But now we shall not waste even more time being separated from each other.”

Something else came to his mind. “Next year you won't organize my birthday without telling me. We'll do it together.”

“We may celebrate our birthdays together,” Sasuke said. “A lot of young people do this here in Music Town.”

“Next year we'll celebrate our birthdays in Konoha,” Naruto answered. For some seconds they got serious again, thinking of what lay ahead of them. 

Sasuke's hands wandered over Naruto's body. Naruto bent down and kissed him. 

“Now what shall we do?” he asked.

“You may ride me,” Sasuke answered. “You haven't ever done that, have you? And then I'll do a blow-job for you. We haven't done that for a long time.”

“As you desire,” Naruto answered. He liked both Sasuke's suggestions, and it was true: both were things they had not done for a long time, or never. He set to work, caressing Sasuke's cock, which was half aroused already, but not enough for having sex.


	151. Chapter One Hundred Forty-Eight: A Civilian Parade

They were very silent when they returned to their flat as they did not want to wake up Sakura. Being tired they only cuddled a bit before they fell asleep, and kissed each other without using their tongues, wishing each other a good night. They could not have fallen asleep without any cuddling at all.

They slept only for a few hours, then they had to get up again: they had to prepare for work. They left some breakfast on the table for Sakura, who was still fast asleep, and they also left her a note, telling her that there was tea in the thermos flask and that she could meet them at the place next to the central temple, as this was where they were supposed to work.

They returned the keys of the Community Center to the caretaker of the building, then they went to the training center of the police. They were assigned to different units on that day: Sasuke was part of the mounted forces and would watch the parade from a certain distance, while Naruto was supposed to work on foot, in the hot zone right between the parade and the onlookers. 

No one thought that anything might happen on a festival as this one, still some horses were needed just in case that the masses of people got out of control. Horses were scary to most people, and so they were useful for driving them back to where they were supposed to be. 

Today, however, that would not be necessary in all likelihood, and even if it was, Sasuke was not supposed to participate in the maneuver. His job was to calm down his horse and help him relax and grow accustomed to large crowds of people so that he wouldn't panic. 

Naruto's job was to put up barriers at points where the street was narrow and where lots of visitors were expected, and then to keep an eye on people and prevent them from climbing over the barrier. At the moment there wasn't much to do for him: the parade hadn't yet started, and few people ware waiting. Naruto was allowed to join Sasuke, who had dismounted and was now chatting with his colleagues, occasionally patting his horse's neck and talking to him to calm him down and make him feel comfortable surrounded by a lot of strangers. When Naruto approached him Sasuke laid his arm around the horse's neck. 

“This is my boy-friend,” he told the horse. “So say hello to him!” 

He had taught the horse to greet people by lifting his front hoof and lowering his head. It did not work every time, but this time it did. Naruto was impressed. 

“Hello,” he said. 

“You may pat his mane and his neck,” Sasuke said. “He likes that.”

Naruto did so. The neck was strong and muscular, and the mane was thick and black. The horse looked friendly and curious. Sasuke was still leaning against the horse, he was beaming, genuinely happy that Naruto and the horse liked each other. 

“You may give him a cookie,” he said, passing one of the cookies he had brought to Naruto. “You need to put it on your open hand. Like this he knows he has to take it up with his lips and won't try to take it with his teeth. It seems scarier, but actually it's safer.”

Naruto followed the instructions. The horse's lips were soft and tickled his skin.

“You should learn horse-riding too,” Sasuke said. “Then we can join the mounted forces together.”

For quite some time it had been important to him that horse-riding was something he did on his own: something Naruto was not better at. It was enough that he was a better dancer and had a better understanding of music. Now he did not care: he enjoyed watching Naruto pat the neck of his horse, and he wished that this might become something that united them too.

Naruto was not certain whether he wanted to learn horse-riding. There was still the kyuubi he had to care for. Also, interacting with people was what he enjoyed most about being a policeman, and this was more difficult when he was not walking on his own feet. 

Some of the young people from the riverside saw them. They enjoyed embarrassing Sasuke and Naruto in front of their colleagues, who frowned at the sight of them. They just looked like people who were up to no good, and who might take soft drugs. Fortunately most of them stayed behind, as they were scared of the horses, only three young women were not. They had learnt horse-riding themselves when they had been twelve.

“So that's your horse,” one of them said. “He's really cute.”

“Hello horsey,” the second woman said, patting the horse's head. 

The third woman took an apple out of her backpack. 

“Don't feed him,” Sasuke said. “He's got enough food today already.”

“An apple's not much food,” the woman said. 

“He's had enough food already,” Sasuke repeated. He felt quite annoyed and even considered using his Sharingan on her. Luckily she now obeyed him. All three women joined their friends now. 

“Have fun!” they said. “Enjoy the parade!” 

They were mocking them, of course. Watching the parade was much more fun when you didn't have to work. 

Sakura found them soon after the people from the riverside had left.

“So that's your horse,” she said. “He's really beautiful. You must look beautiful when you ride him, just like one of the warriors of old.”

Sasuke had no intention to show her. He rarely thought of the warriors of old when he was riding his horse. 

“Today I'm not supposed to ride him,” he said. “I'm supposed to hold him and talk to him, helping him to cope with the crowds of people around him.”

Sakura nodded. 

“You should look for a good place to watch the parade,” Naruto said. “I'm sorry we can't be with you, but we have to work. You can buy a newspaper: they have an overview of the route of the parade, and a list of groups and carts.”

He showed her where she might buy a newspaper, and when she returned he helped her find the plan with the parade's route and pointed out to her what he considered the best spots to watch the parade.

“I'd rather stay with you,” she said in the end. 

At the moment there were still few people, even though the streets were getting more busy now. People still walked around, however, getting themselves some coffee or soft drinks or some of the fat, sweet foreign food that was sold on festivals as this one. They did not yet compete for the best places right behind the barrier, so there was no need for Sakura to look for one of these places, and no need for Naruto to start to work.

Juugo's fostermothers arrived with all their kids and also some friends of their kids. The boys stayed behind, but the little girls were all fascinated that finally they would meet Sasuke's horse. They ran towards him, and the horse took a step backwards.

“I want to pat him,” one of them said. “Sasuke, make him lower his head so that I can touch him.”

“I want to touch him too,” a second girl said. 

The horse took another step backwards. Sasuke had difficulties to hold him, and to calm him down.

“I want to feed him,” a third girl said, turning to her mother. “Do you have a lump of sugar I can give him?” 

“He does not eat sugar,” Sasuke said. “It's not healthy.”

The horse was still nervous. 

“And he does not like to be touched by people he does not know.”

“But we know him, don't we? You can tell him to hold still so that we can touch him.”

“He does not like it,” Sasuke repeated. 

“But you can tell him to like it, can't you?”

“I can't.”

“But why doesn't he like it? We only want to pat him. We don't want to hurt him.”

“He does not know you.”

“But we've been here for at least half an hour. He must know us by now.”

“He doesn't want it,” Sasuke said again. He was really annoyed by now which was a problem because he could not calm down the horse when he himself was not calm. One of his colleagues came to his rescue.

“Do you know these children?” she asked. 

“Yes.”

“They won't respect you as a policeman when they know you in private. Now off you go! Sasuke needs to work! Find some other place to watch the parade!”

In the meantime Naruto had introduced Sakura to the two women, and they had offered to take her with them. After some words of encouragement from Naruto Sakura had accepted the offer: being with friends of Naruto and Sasuke appeared more pleasurable than staying with the boys when they had no time for her. They agreed to meet in the afternoon when the parade was over. The women promised coffee and cake for everyone. 

“You don't have to cook when you work on a Sunday. So have fun watching the parade, as well as this is possible for you!”

They left. It was just in time as now more and more people arrived and Naruto was needed to make certain that no one climbed over the barrier. (Some children tried.) He himself was allowed to stand on the other side of the barrier, of course. 

Sasuke and his colleagues from the mounted forces got onto their horses: Like this they were able to look over the heads of the pedestrians and watch the parade. He could already hear it, even though the couldn't see it yet: a samba group constituted the avantgarde. After the samba group there was a cart of the local beer brewery, drawn by ten horses, and a historical cart of the firefighters, then another musical group on a cart, playing jazz, then some people from a local kindergarten initiative, throwing sweets. After this there was a group of jugglers, then the association of book shop owners, distributing leaflets about the newest books that had appeared this autumn, then another samba group, then one of the minor religious communities, also distributing leaflets, then there were some students who studied to become dentists, all in white coats, throwing sugar-free sweets. There was a local football club, then the employees of the second most important music label, a group of male cheerleaders with pompons, a social initiative that wanted to turn part of the riverside into a concept playground, and also there was one musical group after the other. Some were on foot, some were on carts, as their music was not of the kind that was played while walking. Both musicians on foot and musicians on carts sometimes stopped to play, so that people could listen to a whole song, and the audience cheered and clapped. 

Everyone was happy – the police too was relaxed, and by now Naruto was wearing a couple of ribbons and garlands and also a paper rose. He was not the only one, but he wore more of the stuff than most of his colleagues. With permission of his superiors he collected the sweets that had fallen down within the barrier and assembled some really small kids around himself, those who were too slow to grab the sweets before the older kids got them, and threw the sweets he had collected at them, so that they could have some too. Sasuke watched him from his horse and felt extremely proud of him, and when Naruto looked at him he was beaming. He patted his horse between his ears, and bent down to talk to him: “That's my friend – he's wonderful with children.”

The town was celebrating itself: all the groups that constituted the town participated in the parade, waving hands and throwing sweets at people, fully aware that they were an important part of the town, and the onlookers cheered and clapped. This was Music Town, Sasuke thought, and he and Naruto were part of it now too, even though their part was to watch and see that nothing happened. They could have participated too, if they had not had to work: the project with difficult kids they worked with on Friday afternoons was presenting itself here, and Sasuke and Naruto had helped to prepare ancient ninja costumes for the kids. The police had sent a delegation in historical uniforms, and also there were a couple of groups from the gay community: some in drag, some in leather, and the dancers wore the costumes they planned to wear for the tournament in the evening. They waved at Sasuke, and Sasuke waved back. They'd participate in the next Gay Pride Parade, he thought. The police had already told him and Naruto that they expected them to participate, and that this was why they had to work now. He patted his horse's neck and told him he was a good horse, very patient and calm, and that he'd get another cookie soon. Naruto chatted with people he knew. (His colleagues did the same.) It was the biggest festival of Music Town and the whole town took part in it.


	152. Chapter One Hundred Forty-Nine: Quite Stupid

There were more than two hundred wagons and groups, meaning that the parade lasted for several hours. When it was over people left to have lunch, and the police took down the barrier again. Sasuke dismounted and gave his horse a cookie, then together with Naruto he went back to the head quarter of the police where he cared for his horse and where they changed into civilian clothes. 

Together they went to the place where Juugo's fostermothers lived, and there they met Sakura who was busy explaining to the young boys that she was a ninja too, and that being a med nin did not make her less of a ninja. During lunch they discussed the parade and which wagons and which music they liked best. To Sasuke's and Naruto's surprise Sakura had a clear opinion about the music she liked best. 

“There's always been music at my family's place,” she said. “My mother plays the piano, and my father the trumpet, but mostly they played their CD-player. They loved Jazz.”

After lunch when they had coffee respectively tea (Sakura had already tried the new beverage and discovered that she liked coffee with sirup) they were finally ready to discuss the serious stuff.

“I've read the newspaper you told me to buy in the morning,” Sakura said. “There's an article on Konoha inside. Danzou's conflict with Hinata is in the open now. He claims the child she's expecting, and he also claims Kurenai's little son, who's only a few moths old.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked. 

“He wants them to be raised as members of Root.” 

“At an age when they can't even walk?” 

“He wants them to be raised in the knowledge that they're ninja of the Leaf right from the beginning. He doesn't want their parents to give them strange ideas.” 

Naruto was speechless.

“It's a common weapon of dictators,” one of Juugo's fostermothers explained. “Take children from their real families and give them to loyal families for adoption. The aim is twofold: make certain that the kids are loyal, and break the parents' hearts.”

“Which family will take the child?” Naruto asked.

Sakura shrugged. “We have not heard of any concrete family, actually. Maybe there's some people at Root who know how to look after little children.”

“What are your friends going to do?” the second woman asked.

“Kurenai managed to fight off the first attempt to abduct her son. She suspects, however, that this first attempt was a half-hearted one, and that the next time Danzou will strike with full force. Now she has fled to the Hyuuga clan's compound, which is the easiest place to defend. She used to be Hinata's mentor after all. Neji and the other fighters of the clan have promised to help her fight off any further attempt to attack her and her son.” 

“And else?” the first woman asked again. “Do people in Konoha know about this? Are there any families that might take in the child?” 

“I'm not certain. When I left Konoha only a few of us knew about Danzou's plans: Hinata, myself, my mother, and Shikamaru's mother: all of us who have been working against Danzou for quite some time. But now I read about his plans in the newspaper. Hinata must have decided to speak about them.”

“Or some other people who knew about the plans could not keep their mouth shut. Or Danzou himself wanted to make them public.”

Sasuke and Naruto were still too shocked about these new plans to say anything.

“In the end it might come useful to you and your friends,” the second woman said. “People normally don't approve of having their children taken from them, and if it happens to one family it can happen to all.”

“Is the child's mother known as an opponent of Danzou?” the first woman asked.

“Not really,” Sakura answered. “She's a friend, but she's busy with her baby and can't contribute much to our work.”

“Then it's a problematic move for Danzou. People may understand that a child can't grow up with a family that does not agree to the village's ideology, but they won't understand that a random child should be taken from his mother.”

“The child's not random,” Sakura replied. “He's the Third Hokage's grandson.”

“But the Third Hokage was popular, wasn't he?” 

“Danzou tries to convince people that it was the Third Hokage's weakness and softness that caused Konoha's decline.”

“He must be desperate,” the second woman said. “He can't believe that people will believe him. He must know that everyone knows that Konoha's decline happened during his time as Hokage.”

“He tries to blame it on Tsunade,” Sakura said. 

“He can't believe that people will believe him,” the woman repeated. “He must know that his power is crumbling, so that now he's resorting to desperate measures. It's just that – you know, I would have expected him to last a bit longer. Normally, tyrants know that they need the support of the majority of the population. When they lose it their time is over. Danzou never knew how to secure it.”

Sakura smiled. 

“He's quite a stupid dictator compared to other tyrants,” the first woman said. 

The women's logic escaped both Sasuke and Naruto: Danzou's oppression was worse than ever, but they saw it as a sign of weakness. Sakura, however, smiled again. 

“I've left Konoha not only because of Hinata,” she said. “Actually, if I had known about Hinata, I would have stayed. I left Konoha because of Sai, and because of what we found in the archives of the Hokage Tower. Tsunade gave us some hints where we should look for documents on the consultations about the Uchiha massacre. We still hoped to find the proceedings of the decisive meeting of the council as proof that your family was murdered on orders of the Leaf.”

She looked at Sasuke now, and then at Naruto.

“We did not find these proceedings, but we found something else: We found the correspondence between Danzou and Madara. Well, Danzou called him Madara: he had no idea he wasn't the real Madara. Still apparently he was able to summon the kyuubi, and he did so when Danzou asked him to do so. We still don't know the exact details of the agreement, but we think that they both profited from it so there was no need to give Madara any kind of reward.”

“I guessed so,” Sasuke said. “Do you remember that lecture on the history of Konoha? The attack of the kyuubi came quite convenient to Danzou.”

“So Danzou's responsible for my father's death, for the destruction of the village at the time of my birth, and for the fact that I'm the kyuubi's jinchuuriki.”

Until now, Naruto had detested Danzou because of what he had done to Sasuke and his family, and because of how he was ruining the village now. He had not expected the wave of hatred and anger that engulfed him now. Sasuke laid his arm around him and drew him closer to himself. 

“I've brought you the letters Danzou and Madara wrote to each other,” Sakura said, “if you want to have a look at them.”

She laid them on the table. Naruto took them and began to read, holding them in a way that allowed Sasuke to read them too.

“It's because of these letters that I left Konoha. It's too dangerous to keep them there. If I was caught with them I'd be locked away, just like Sai, and the letters would be destroyed. But they must not be destroyed: they are proof that in order to obtain power he did not shrink away from having the whole village destroyed by the kyuubi.”

“What are you going to do with them?” one of the women asked.

“Keep them somewhere where they're safe.”

“But here they're useless. People in Konoha must know about them.”

“But I can't show them to everyone. The risk is just too high.”

“I can take them to the newspaper,” Sasuke said. “They'll be happy about them.”

“And then?” Sakura asked. 

“They'll print them. Then you can keep the originals and see that they're safe in Music Town, and at the same time all those who are interested in the fate of Konoha can read them.”

“People in Konoha can't read Music Town's newspapers,” one of the two women remarked. “Danzou prevents them from being imported, and when they're imported, he sees that they're censored.”

“They're read anyway,” Sakura said. “We've always managed to lay hands on a few copies and smuggle them into Konoha. They're passed around then. We did that with the Gutsy ninja, and also with the issue of Urban Lady that contained your interview. It just takes some time.”

“So people will learn that Danzou never cared about Konoha's wellbeing,” Naruto said. 

“They should have understood this from his present actions, shouldn't they?” the other woman said. 

Naruto was silent: he still felt the pain of what he had heard. 

Sakura looked at Sasuke: “We also found documents about the clan council's decision to relocate your family,” she said. “There was a long discussion. Apparently your family were accused of wanting the kyuubi for themselves.”

Sasuke stiffened. Naruto, who was still leaning against him, caressed his hands.

For a short moment Sakura looked at Naruto, then her eyes turned to Sasuke again. “It seems that after the kyuubi's attack the question how to deal with Naruto arose. Minato had died when he had banned the kyuubi to the underworld, and Naruto's mother had died a few days later.” 

Now Naruto stiffened too.

“People were afraid of the kyuubi, so no family wanted to take in the new-born child. Your mother then offered to care for him: she said that for the Uchiha there was no reason to fear the kyuubi, least of all in the form of a little baby. The council first welcomed the offer and was inclined to accept, but then the mood changed: suddenly the offer was interpreted as an attempt to get control of the kyuubi, and secure its power for the Uchiha clan. From this accusation it seemed a logical step to accuse them of calling the kyuubi: everyone knew that the Uchiha were able to do this.”

“Only a few were at the time,” Sasuke said. “And they were extremely old.” 

Sakura shrugged. “Don't ask me. So of course if the Uchiha offered to take in Naruto it was the second step of their plan to lay hands on the kyuubi's power, and calling the kyuubi had been the first step. When the council's meeting had started the opinion on the Uchiha was more or less evenly divided. There were those who believed that they were guilty of calling the kyuubi, and those who still believed in the Uchiha's loyalty to Konoha. When the meeting was over almost everyone had turned against the Uchiha, and they agreed that they should move to some distant corner of the village. Your father Fugaku gave a passionate speech, announcing that the Uchiha would remain loyal as they had always been, thus proving that they had nothing to do with the kyuubi's attack, and that they would continue to fulfill their duty as the police of Konoha as they had always done.”

Everyone was silent, even the children. Only the smallest child made some noise as he played with the coffee cups and the glasses, but when he saw that everyone was looking at him he stopped.

“It doesn't make sense,” one of the women said. “If they were really convinced that the Uchiha were guilty of calling the kyuubi they shouldn't have made them move to some remote corner of the village. It's just not an adequate punishment for such a horrible crime. They caused the death of a few dozen people after all.”

Sasuke felt irritated. He had not expected the woman to take position against his family.

“But they didn't have any proof,” the other woman said. “Without proof they couldn't punish them adequately.”


	153. Chapter One Hundred Fifty: Hold On!

Sasuke and Naruto were still leaning heavily against each other, their arms around each other's shoulders. 

“Can I have a look at the document?” Naruto asked.

Sakura passed it to him, and he and Sasuke read it together. 

“I had no idea that there might have been the possibility of being taken in by another family,” Naruto said. 

“Why not?” one of the women said. “That's what people have done everywhere and at every time when there was a child without parents. It's the most natural thing to do, isn't it?”

“Not in Konoha.”

“In Konoha probably too: just as everywhere else.”

Naruto caressed Sasuke's hands. “We might have grown up as brothers,” he said.

Sasuke embraced him and then kissed him deeply for more than a minute, not caring that people were watching them. He felt Naruto's despair.

“It was not fate that you grew up in loneliness,” he said. “It was people.”

Again he kissed Naruto's cheeks. “Now I understand my mother's warning that I should keep at a safe distance from you. It was stupid all the same: My clan got killed anyway. I should not have listened to her.”

“We might have been friends much earlier. We might have been brothers,” Naruto repeated. 

“See it like this,” one of the women said. “If you had been raised as brothers you could not be lovers now.”

“Why not?” Naruto asked. 

“It would be incest.” 

“Not for us!” Naruto embraced Sasuke and kissed him. “If it had not been for Danzou we would have been together for all our lives. There would not have been years of separation.”

“If it had not been for Danzou you'd have been raised by your own parents. We would have become friends in the academy or even on the playground.”

Naruto took up the documents again. “Your mother was friends with my mother,” he said. “She gives this as a reason why she wanted to take me in. They would have met on the playground and watched us play, just as all mothers do. In the sandbox we would have become friends.”

He caressed Sasuske's hair, and again they kissed without caring about the people around them. Slowly Juugo's fostermothers and Sakura left the living-room, not wanting to disturb them. The children followed.

It took both of them some time to calm down. They knew it would take them more than an afternoon to digest the information. When they felt ready they dissolved their embrace and followed their friends to the kitchen. 

“We want to go home now,” Sasuke said. “We did not get much sleep last night, and we need some time to rest before the dance tournament starts. We also need to change.”

“You don't need to rest, do you?” Sakura said, staring at him with wide eyes. “You're the most powerful ninja of our generation.”

“When they say they want to rest they don't mean the same thing as other people,” one of the women said. “It's best if you stay with us: you won't want to listen to what they're doing. We'll meet again at the tournament!”

“Yes! See you then!” Naruto replied. 

They went home silently, their arms around each other. When he saw a bookshop Naruto went inside to buy a newspaper – the one where Sasuke's own article would be published the next day. When they arrived at their own place they prepared some tea and then sat down on the sofa, cuddled against each other. Naruto opened the newspaper so that they could read together. 

Apparently the conflict was quite in the open by now. Hinata had announced in public that she, and with her the entire Hyuuga clan, would protect Kurenai and her child. Danzou's answer had been that from now on he'd consider the Hyuuga clan traitors. There were photos of ANBU positioned around the grounds of the Hyuuga clan, threatening to attack and take Kurenai's child by force, and there were also photos of members of the Hyuuga clan, preparing to defend the child. 

“They'll be attacked and killed,” Naruto said. “And the kid will be raised as an orphan, just like Sai. Or there'll be a civil war.”

“Maybe Danzou's opponents will win that war,” Sasuke replied. 

Naruto got up to look for pen and paper. “I'll write to Hinata,” he said. 

Sasuke followed him with his eyes. He accepted that Naruto sat down at the big table, but he watched him anxiously while he was writing, and when he saw that the letter was finished he sat down next to Naruto to read it.

Naruto was not certain whether he approved of this. His feelings towards Hinata were complicated, and the fact that she had been in love with him still turned their relationship awkward. Now he admired her for standing up against Danzou. He would have preferred not to let Sasuke have a share in this relationship, but sensing that Sasuke was jealous he allowed him to read the letter: 

Dear Hinata, 

Sakura and Kakashi have arrived here safely, and they told us about how you offered protection to Kurenai and her child. My heart and all my thoughts are with you, and with Kurenai and her child. Hold on: you will succeed. There's just one thing you must not do, and this is that you must not employ violence. It may seem absurd to you, just as it first seemed absurd to me, but this is because we are ninja and because we were raised in ignorance of what people in the rest of the world know: you can defeat your oppressor without taking resort to violence, and your victory will be more certain like that than if you take up arms to fight him. If you are courageous and ready to stand up for what you believe in, but refuse to hurt anyone, all but the most cruel-hearted people will admire you. People will unite behind you, and Danzou's ANBU and Root won't be able to fight. It works – it worked more than once in the countries beyond the ninja countries, and there's no reason why it shouldn't work here, too. 

Love, Naruto.

Sasuke put down the letter. “You tell her to sacrifice herself for Kurenai's baby,” he said. “You can't do that.” 

He took the pen and added another line to the letter: 

Hold on! We'll be with you soon.

Sasuke. 

Naruto looked at him. Sasuke had felt a bit insecure while he had written the line, but the question in Naruto's eyes reassured him.

“I mean it,” he said. “They've told us more than once to stay here in Music Town, as our presence in Konoha would make their situation more complicated, as then they'd have to protect and hide us from Danzou. But now their situation can't get more complicated than it is.”

Naruto took some time to digest Sasuke's words and to understand their implications. “When shall we leave?” he asked.

“We should stick to our plan to publish Sakura's documents,” Sasuke replied. “We can't leave immediately.”

Naruto nodded. “We have to do for them here what can be done only here.” 

“And we can still dance the tournament.”

“We can. That's what you dreamt of since we met here in Music Town, isn't it?”

“It is. But this is only because at the time I did not dare to dream of having sex with you.”

Naruto smiled. He caressed Sasuke's hair and cheeks, and then he kissed him on his mouth. Sasuke responded by opening his mouth, and by caressing Naruto's naked back under his shirt.

Naruto broke off the kiss, smiling: he led Sasuke to their bedroom, and made him lie on his back, then he knelt over him and just looked at him. He was very much in love now, full of gratitude for what Sasuke had just offered to him. He was beaming, and Sasuke smiled back at him, and his smiled turned him unbelievably beautiful. Slowly Naruto kissed him again, and then he started to unbutton Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke did the same to him. They helped each other take off their shirts and then continued to caress each other: They had been a couple for quite some time now, and still to Naruto it felt like a miracle that a good-looking man like Sasuke had fallen in love with him, but now he thought that Sasuke was not just good-looking but beautiful, and that it was his beautiful soul that turned his body beautiful. He would not have cared if Sasuke had had a belly, or an ugly scar – he would have caressed him all the same just because he was Sasuke. 

“We'll grow old together”; he said. “We'll grow old and wrinkly, and fat or thin, whatever happens to us.”

Sasuke's smile grew even warmer. “I take this as a promise,” he said. “Don't get yourself killed before you're old.” 

“I won't,” Naruto said, continuing to caress Sasuke while Sasuke's hands wandered over his body.

“You're beautiful,” Sasuke said. “Did I ever tell you that you're most beautiful when you're reading?” 

“A couple of times. You don't want me to read now, do you?” 

“No. It's just that you look like that now, too, all serious.”

“You want me to remain serious while we're having sex?” 

Sasuke started to unbutton Naruto's pants, and to pull them down. He smiled when he saw Naruto's boxers, even though by now he had got used to Naruto's fancy for colourful boxers and accepted it as part of what Naruto was. He pulled the boxers down, too.

“You can't remain serious for long, can you?,” he said. “It's just not possible.”

He was laughing – a silent laughter that originated in his belly and was barely audible. Naruto laughed too, and his laughter was deep and full and from his belly too: a laughter from pure happiness.

“That's not fair,” he said. “How shall I remain serious when you laughing?” 

He opened Sasuke's zipper now too and undressed him completely. He kissed him and lay on him, naked skin on naked skin. Sasuke moved a bit, cradling him. Naruto supported himself on his hands, and Sasuke caressed his ass. They were going to have sex eventually, but Naruto wanted to extend this moment of anticipation. He could not have been happier than he was now.

“We could have been friends from the sandbox,” he said. “I have met some people who have been best friends from the time when they still wore diapers. I've even talked to a couple who got engaged in the sandbox and married twenty years later. But now we shall not waste even more time being separated from each other.”

Something else came to his mind. “Next year you won't organize my birthday without telling me. We'll do it together.”

“We may celebrate our birthdays together,” Sasuke said. “A lot of young people do this here in Music Town.”

“Next year we'll celebrate our birthdays in Konoha,” Naruto answered. For some seconds they got serious again, thinking of what lay ahead of them. 

Sasuke's hands wandered over Naruto's body. Naruto bent down and kissed him. 

“Now what shall we do?” he asked.

“You may ride me,” Sasuke answered. “You haven't ever done that, have you? And then I'll do a blow-job for you. We haven't done that for a long time.”

“As you desire,” Naruto answered. He liked both Sasuke's suggestions, and it was true: both were things they had not done for a long time, or never. He set to work, caressing Sasuke's cock, which was half aroused already, but not enough for having sex.


	154. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-One: Dance Tournament

It was time to get ready for the dance tournament. Sasuke and Naruto had a shower and packed the clothes they wanted to wear for dancing, and also some make-up. They left, and on their way they posted the letter to Hinata. 

The tournament was to take place in the principal concert hall of the town, at the central place right between the town hall and the main temple, in a real ballroom with a stage for the tournament itself, with tables at the sides for the audience and for dancers who needed to take a break. There was some space between the tables so that people from the audience could dance during breaks. There were also lots of flowers: on the tables, under the windows, and to the sides of the stage. It was a huge tournament with a long tradition going back to the times when Music Town was still the Hidden Village of Music, but same sex couples had participated only for the last five years. 

Sasuke and Naruto found their friends assembled at two tables that stood next to each other. People embraced and welcomed them.

“You look quite at ease,” the guy from Earth Country said. “Did you follow my advice?” 

“What advice?” Naruto asked. 

“He told me not to get into an argument with you before the tournament but to have some good sex instead,” Sasuke said. 

The man cringed. Sasuke had learnt by now to understand the other gay men when they hinted at having sex, but he still had to learn to talk in a similar way. 

“We did,” Naruto said, smiling and drawing Sasuke closer to his side. It was not only the memory of the sex, however, that made him smile, but even more importantly the memory of the moments before this: their decision to leave Music Town and return to Konoha. He felt at peace now. 

“You don't need to tell any details,” the man said, and Naruto stopped thinking about the afternoon and returned to the present. The man's clothes caught his eye. 

“What's that funny thing around your neck?” he asked. 

“It's a bow tie. Haven't you ever seen one?”

“It looks ridiculous. And you look ridiculous in your suit. You don't look like yourself.”

“You can't wear jeans and a T-shirt when you participate in a ballroom tournament,” the man replied. “You would show a lack of respect for the audience, the jury and the other participants.”

Sasuke thought that the man and his husband looked more dignified than on other days. He considered it cool. Still he was glad that he and Naruto would wear ordinary black pants, though very tight ones made from some elastic material, and ordinary black shirts, but silken ones.

“You should hurry,” the man said. “The sorting rounds start soon, and you still need to change and to check in.”

He showed them where to check in. They told their names to the woman behind the counter, and she ticked them off from some list. “From the Center of Music Town – is that correct?” she asked. 

“From Konoha, please,” Sasuke said. 

The woman looked at him. 

“Yes, write down that we're from Konoha,” Naruto said. 

The woman took some notes. “The programme has been printed already,” she said, giving a copy to each of them. “But I can tell the people who do the moderation that you are from Konoha.”

They thanked her, and she gave them bracelets that entitled them to free soft drinks and a number complete with safety pins. “Have fun!” she said. “I wish you a successful tournament!”

They went on to the changing-room, where they met some friend of theirs, but also a lot of strangers, mostly the male halfs of opposite sex couples, but also gay couples they had never seen. Sasuke applied a new layer of gel to his hair, and he managed to persuade Naruto to let him apply some gel to his hair, too, making it stand out to all sides. 

“Looks cool,” he said. 

Naruto insisted on wearing the number, so Sasuke pinned it to his back. They watched in fascination how other men donned some make-up foundation not only to their faces, but also to their necks and those parts of their bodies that were not covered by clothes. Naruto was glad that he did not have to look more tanned than he was. Sasuke might need to look a bit darker, he thought, and he shared his observations with the guy from Earth Country, who had returned to the cleaning-room to comb his hair (again.)

“That's only for the top couples,” he told Naruto. “And in the end what counts is how you dance, not how you look. You don't have to look like a Latin lover.”

He had to explain the term to Naruto, who finally understood why a man from their club who normally dyed his hair blonde had not done this for a while and had now cut his hair very short so that you only saw the new black hair. 

Sasuke did not use any make-up to appear more tanned than he was, but he applied eyeliner and some mascara. He had also brought dark blue mascara and eyeliner for Naruto, and Naruto knew that he could not decline the offer without offending him.

“You can also have some powder,” the guy from Earth Country said. “Put it where your skin is a bit shiny, or a bit red.”

Naruto followed his advice. “We're not doing drag, are we?” he asked. 

The straight men at the mirror next to them started to look. 

“No, it's just so that you look better on stage. The light there is quite cruel, and people see you from far away. Also, you look better on photos if you use some make-up. Now take some rouge too!” 

He had to help him apply it. 

“You look great,” Sasuke said, then he remembered this afternoon's feelings and said: “That's for the audience. I like you best as you are.”

Naruto felt like himself again. He also remembered what Sasuke had said: that he liked him best when he looked serious. He did not need to smile at everyone all the time. Now he smiled because he was happy. 

“I also like you best as you are,” he said, removing some mascara from Sasuke's cheek. “I even like the gel in your hair, as it always makes you look as if you had just left the bed.”

Again some of the straight men looked at them, and they realized that this was not their own community center where the rules of conduct were less strict than elsewhere. They left the changing-room and joined their friends from their dance-club: There was still some time left for warming up and practising your sequence one last time before the sorting rounds started, but only very little space, as everyone tried to do this at the same time. In the end the woman with the microphone divided the time between couples with even numbers and couples with odd numbers. 

Slowly Naruto got more excited. With all he and Sasuke had gone through these last weeks winning or not winning the tournament was not really important any more, but now he wanted to show what he was capable of. 

The tournament started with the sorting rounds: Couples were divided into classes according to their level. There were five classes for the opposite sex couples, but only three for the same sex couples. There had been intense discussions about this, because the same sex couples had felt discriminated against, but in the end they had to give in. When there were as many same sex couples as opposite sex couples there would be five classes for them too, they had been told, but this year, the tournament for same sex couples was much smaller, and so there were only three classes. 

Also, the same-sex couples started the tournament as if they were only a prelude to the real thing. They tried to make up for it by bringing more friends and cheering louder than the straight people, who all seemed very serious and dignified. 

There were several rounds even for the sorting, as there were lots of couples, and as the ballroom couples started and as they all had to dance three dances, Sasuke and Naruto had to wait for quite some time. They watched their friends and embraced and congratulated them and told them they had done well, even though the guy from Earth Country and his husband had messed up the quickstep, suddenly forgetting which figure they wanted to dance, and standing still for almost ten seconds until they decided to start again from the beginning. 

The mood was still rather relaxed, as this was not about winning or losing or even entering the final round, but just about getting sorted into the right class. Most couples knew quite well which class they belonged to, and didn't even aspire to enter a higher class. If they were unlucky it meant that they had to dance a dance they had not practised, and it decreased their chances of entering the final round. Only some of the top couples were nervous, most of all a couple who hoped to be admitted to the A-class for the first time. (They had spent a lot of time improving their Viennese Waltz, the dance that was the prerogative of the A-class dancers.) 

There was a short break before the Latin couples started. Sasuke wanted to take another look at his hair, and he wanted to take a look at Naruto's hair, too. They returned to the ballroom just in time to walk onto the stage with the other couples for their first dance. They lined up right behind some friends of theirs, with a couple they had never seen following them. They were drowned in the music, and in the general good mood. Even Sasuke smiled as they became part of their group of dancers, and waved at the audience. It was the music, too, that made him smile, a samba that had been popular all summer, with not much melody, but a lot of rhythm, so that he could feel it in his belly and his feet, and he felt the excitement, as this music had always announced the highlights of festivals and parties. Now he was not a member of the audience but among those who entered the stage. 

Naruto was mostly glad that Sasuke had partly lost his nervousness. He looked determined when they took position before the first dance, the rumba, started as if he was focussing on a fight, but when Naruto smiled at him he returned the smile and lighted up again. 

“We'll show them,” he said when Naruto laid his hand in his own. Naruto nodded: he could not answer as the music had already started, and Sasuke led him into the first figure. 

Sasuke was leading and Naruto was following most of the time, still Naruto felt that he needed to reassure and support Sasuke. He smiled at him, and Sasuke smiled back and gained confidence. When he turned around Naruto smiled at the audience, flirting a bit, and he saw that Sasuke also smiled at the audience. He had rarely done this during training, but now he just could not stop smiling. 

The rumba had lasted for only ninety seconds. They waited at the side of the stage to watch the other couples and the first round of the cha-cha. The second round of the cha-cha it was their turn again, and Sasuke did not feel insecure any longer.

Dancing the cha-cha was always fun, and Sasuke allowed himself to be infected by Naruto's good mood, and with the jive, which was Naruto's favorite dance, he just trusted they'd do well. They had danced their sequence a hundred times, and they no longer had to focus on getting the figures right. The most difficult part was to wait until they had left the stage before they embraced. Sasuke drew Naruto into his arms and held him for several seconds, and Naruto understood that he was simply happy. 

They dissolved their embrace as other people were tipping their shoulders because they wanted to congratulate and embrace them too. Naruto was soon surrounded by a lot of friends, while Sasuke found himself standing next to their dance teacher. 

“You did really well,” the dance teacher said. “People see that you enjoy dancing. They see that your smile is not frozen as with most other couples. They see it's genuine. You still have to learn to smile at people as Naruto does, but you've made great progress too.”

The compliment felt weird, and Sasuke was glad to return to their friends, who embraced him just as they had embraced Naruto, and told him he had done really well, and he and Naruto embraced the other couples in the same way, telling them that they had been great, even when they had really messed up. No one cared about the straight couples, even though some of the men were quite attractive in Sasuke's opinion. The women wore far too little fabric on their bodies for his taste. He turned his attention again to his own friends, who were now discussing the other male couples: their dancing, their looks, and their costumes. There were quite a few same sex couples who were not from their community: some were from other dance clubs where they were tolerated by the opposite sex couples, but some were from the ninja countries, mostly from the capitals and other big cities: there, too, gay communities had been forming for some years. Most of the couples who had traveled to Music Town were aiming for the top classes: people took on themselves a journey of three days only if they wanted to win. 

People stopped chatting when the moderator announced that the jury would now announce the division into classes for the ballroom couples.


	155. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Two: Just like Icha-Icha

The ballroom couples listened intently, waiting for their number to be announced. There weren't any surprises, neither good nor bad ones: everyone had ended up in the class they had been training for. Some people looked a bit disappointed: they had secretly hoped to be sorted into a higher class, but as they would not have found any understanding from their friends they did not complain. 

There was a break now before the contest started with the preliminary rounds. Sasuke and Naruto walked around, looking for some non-dancing friends. Juugo's fostermothers had announced that they would come and watch. The first people they met, however, were some girls from their class who had also promised to come because they were curious what Sasuke and Naruto were doing in their spare time.

“You really look great,” they said. “All you gay people look great. I'd never thought I'd enjoy watching you in such a way.”

“I wish my boy-friend enjoyed dancing too,” the second girl said. “It really looks as if it is a lot of fun.”

“My boy-friend doesn't like dancing either,” the first girl continued. “You don't think we might dance together, even though we are just friends, not a lesbian couple?” 

“Quite a few couples are just friends, not lovers,” Sasuke said. “They think their dancing profits from not being in love.”

“I think there's some female couples here who are not lesbians,” Naruto added. “We are a tolerant bunch. We don't mind straight people. So if you join our club people will welcome you.”

The girl looked at her friend, but the friend looked rather reluctant. “I don't know,” she said. “I think I prefer dancing with male partners.”

Sasuke and Naruto went on: These were other people's problems. Finally they found Juugo's fostermothers, or rather, Juugo's fostermothers found them. 

“You did well,” they said, embracing the two boys. “So when will we see you again?” 

They had brought a programme, and Naruto pointed out to them the time when the C-class would start. 

Sakura was with the two women. “You look really good in these clothes,” she said. “But it's still weird to see you dancing, and dancing together. In my mind I still see you as fighters.” 

Naruto drew Sasuke closer to himself. She still hasn't accepted that we are lovers, he thought. She still hasn't accepted that Sasuke would never have fallen in love with her. He remembered the time when he would have been content with Sasuke marrying Sakura, and him living with them as their friend, but all in all he preferred the present arrangement. He kissed Sasuke on his cheek.

“Being a good dancer is valued higher here than being a good fighter,” Sasuke said. “You need to change the way you see us in your mind.”

He fell silent, because the division into classes of the Latin couples was announced. They waited for their number and already started to fear that they had been forgotten, but then their number was called among the couples who had made it to the B-class. The two women understood it before Sasuke and Naruto did. They embraced them both.

“Now you've shown that you're great dancers!” they said. “Now you've shown that you really belong to Music Town.”

The boys still had to digest the information.

“The dancing will start soon again,” the women said. It was only the D-class for the straight couples, and neither of them cared much about them, but after this the C-classes of the lesbian and gay couples would start. “So take some time to prepare well and get a calm mind for dancing!” 

Sasuke and Naruto returned to their own table, and on their way they were able to discuss the news among themselves. 

“Next year we'll make it to the A-class,” Sasuke said.

“Next year we'll be in Konoha,” Naruto replied. 

They found the guy from Earth Country and his husband getting more and more excited: they'd start in the C-class, and it was only a short time before their tournament started. They were getting nervous even though they had always stated that they danced only for fun and that participating in the tournament was more important to them than winning it. 

“You'll make it,” Naruto said, embracing them both. 

Sasuke embraced them too: it was what you did on such an occasion.

“What's that?” he asked, pointing to a piece of gauze that was attached to the local-born man's left middle finger and to his right shoulder. 

The man looked at it: “I like it,” he said, answering to Sasuke's unspoken words.

Sasuke shrugged. He had seen a lot of female dancers (mostly from opposite sex couples) wearing such a piece of cloth, and he considered it ridiculous. He knew better than to tell the man, however.

They watched their friends dance and clapped and cheered for them and told them they had done well when it was over. They got immersed in their community, feeling they were one with their friends. 

It took a while until it was their turn again. During the B-class ballroom competition, which directly proceeded their own, Sasuke grew nervous again, and he dragged Naruto to the changing-room to renew his make-up. (He also renewed his own make-up, and the gel in his hair, but he spent much more time on Naruto.)

“I want to win this,” he said. “It's going to be more difficult now that we've in the B-class, but it will be more honourable too.”

Naruto embraced him. (He avoided kissing him because he did not want to mess up his make-up.)

“Don't be too ambitious,” he said. “Your dancing gets worse when you are tense from ambition.”

Sasuke nodded because he knew that Naruto was correct, but he also knew that this put him into some kind of paradox: being less ambitious in order to dance better. 

Their dance trainer's advice was quite similar: “Just dance and have fun! Don't forget that what you have achieved already is a great success: you have nothing to lose. Don't worry about small mistakes: these won't get you any minus points on the judges' lists. Just be there! Focus on the present: on your dancing, on Naruto, on the audience.”

Sasuke nodded, but Naruto felt that the advice had not been very helpful. He'd have to support Sasuke again, he thought. He laid his hand into the hand Sasuke had offered to him when they climbed the stairs to the stage.

His worries turned out to be unfounded. Sasuke enjoyed walking onto the stage, he enjoyed presenting himself to the audience while the moderator announced their names and where they came from, he enjoyed leaving the stage and waving at the audience. When it was their turn to dance he was still in a special mood, and he returned Naruto's smile when he offered his hands to him so that they might start to dance the rumba.

Sasuke liked the rumba, and even more he liked the samba. This alone would have been reason enough for him to be glad that they started in the B-class, because in the C-class there were only three dances. He liked the samba because it gave them the opportunity to be really close, and because it was more athletic than the rumba and had a more clearly defined rhythm. Naruto loved the jive because it was the dance that appeared like some real sport to him, but with time he had learnt to appreciate the more erotic nature of samba or rumba. He smiled and softened in Sasuke's arms, and Sasuke felt reassured.

“You did well,” their dance trainer told them when their preliminaries had ended. “The first round was for warming up, now you showed them what you're really capable of. We'll see what the judges think of it – but whatever they decide, you can be proud of yourselves. Now focus on the A-class!”

Several couples from their dance club had qualified for the A-class. They had all dressed up, wearing shirts that were open to their navels, and they had used a lot of make-up, and their hair was shining with vaseline. Now they needed the support of their companions, just as they had supported the dancers in the C- and B-class when it had been their turn. 

Sasuke took Naruto's hands while they watched. He remembered the tournament he had watched on the day of his arrival in Music Town, and he remembered the fascination he had felt watching the top couples, how they first had given him the idea that love, including physical love, might be something he could enjoy, and respect himself for.

“Dancing ourselves is much better than watching others dance,” he said. He laid his arm around Naruto, and Naruto leant against him. “And making love and being together and sharing everything.”

Naruto also remembered Sasuke's first day in Music Town. He still remembered his anxiousness on that day. He remembered how he had slowly started to trust that Sasuke would stay – and that Sasuke was in love with him and not with anyone else. He had slowly learnt to trust that he was worth being loved, just like as a child he had learnt to trust that he was worth having friends.

“Being together for real is what I've always longed for,” he said. “And now we'll return to Konoha together, and it will be real too.”

“I just regret we cannot stay and learn to dance like the top couples and inspire other people's dreams,” Sasuke replied.

They were watching the Jive now, which was the last dance, and Naruto realized that they still had to learn a lot until they could dance like this.

Thee preliminaries were over, at least for the same sex couples. There were still the A-class and the S-class of the opposite sex couples, but no one was interested in them. They welcomed their own A-class couples back at their table and congratulated them to their performance, and then they discussed the costumes of the couples from other clubs.

When the opposite sex couples had finished their dancing there was a break, and people started to walk around and have drinks and chat with their friends. There was even some music, so that people from the audience also had an opportunity to dance. The competitors did not dance: they were too tense for dancing just for fun.

Sasuke and Naruto met Karin and Kakashi.

“You did great,” Karin said. “It's a pleasure to watch you.”

They looked at Kakashi, waiting for some compliments from his side too, but he only said that he couldn't say anything: “All this is still too new and strange to me.”

“And did you see the A-class and the S-class now too?” Karin continued. “I never thought that ballroom dancing might be that fascinating. I always thought it a bit weird that you had chosen such an old-fashioned dance style like ballroom, but now I see it's really cool.”

“We don't do ballroom,” Sasuke said. “We do Latin.”

“Ballroom is what the guys with the suits and the tailcoats do,” Naruto explained.

“Whatever. And did you see the couple in the lilac shirts, by the way? They were best, weren't they? They'll win for sure. Have you noticed them?”

Sasuke and Naruto had not only noticed them, but they had also discussed them in depth and in length with their friends. “Being gay doesn't mean you have to dress up as parrots,” Sasuke said.

“We saw them, but they're not from our club,” Naruto said. “We'll cheer for our own friends. That's what you do here in Music Town.” He looked at Kakashi. “This is not a weird and strange place,” he said. “People here love and support their friends just as they do in Konoha. Sasuke has written about this. Tomorrow his article will be printed in the newspapers.”

“Really?” Karin asked, smiling seductively.

Sasuke nodded. He felt annoyed. 

“Still there's so much that's different about this place,” Kakashi said. “Karin and I watched the parade this morning, and in the afternoon she showed me the town. It's fascinating. I feel reminded of the places Jiraiya describes in Icha-Icha: parties and people who walk around in the town or in the park with their special person, holding hands. There's some differences, however. For example, there's no beach in Music Town.”

“There's a river,” Naruto said. “People go there for barbecue parties, but only in summer. Now it's too cold.”

“I understand. Maybe I will be able to see the place in June, too. Still the town does not feel the same as Icha-Icha. It's similar, but it's not the same.”

“It's not. In Icha-Icha people don't have to work. Here they do.”

“Kakashi may be able to find work here,” Karin said. “He told me that in Konoha he worked as a nurse for your former Hokage, as he was no longer able to work as a ninja. Male nurses are rare here, so he will be appreciated.”

“So you're going to stay?” Naruto asked. 

“I'm not certain yet. I fear that I might get into trouble when I return to Konoha. I'm a rogue nin now. Still, helping Sakura to leave the village seemed the most useful thing I might do for Konoha.”

Sasuke and Naruto nodded. Somehow they did not feel like telling him that they had decided to return to Konoha. 

“We need to go back to our friends,” Naruto said. “Dancing starts soon again, and our friends need us to cheer for them.”

A/N: My beta asked me about the piece of gauze the man is wearing. A lot of female dancers were them, but I have also seen them with male dancers in same-sex dance competitions, and you can see one of them on the Wikipedia-page for ballroom dancing. There you also find a list of dancers at tournaments.


	156. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Three: Nanas

They still had no idea whether they had been admitted to the final, but the guy from Earth Country and his husband had made it. They were very excited now, and in some corner they kept practising their most difficult figure. People teased them about their original idea of participating only for fun, but the guy from Earth Country told them to shut up. They needed to focus on their figure. 

Finally the dance teacher told them to stop as they had to get ready to walk onto the stage. Sasuke and Naruto embraced them to wish them luck, just as everyone else did. 

The finals were different from the preliminaries in that there were no lists, but the judges showed their judgement immediately, holding up big boards with numbers to show the couple's place in that dance. It was a highly ritualized procedure: After the judgements had been shown the couple in question had to step forward and present itself to the audience, and then thank the judges for their judgement, no matter whether they were happy or disappointed. The smile on most couples' faces was genuine, but people told Sasuke and Naruto that in the higher classes this was different. 

It was more exciting like this: You always knew your position, and the audience could also see that a neck-to-neck-race for the first place between their friends and another couple was taking place. Sasuke sought the proximity of their dance teacher (dragging Naruto with him) so that he could explain to them the exact rules: that the jury first counted the number of first places to figure out who had won the tournament, and that then the other places were counted. 

“It's going to be quite close,” the dance teacher said, showing Sasuke his notes.

They watched the quickstep, which was the last dance, and then the judgement for the quickstep. With the dance teacher's explanations Sasuke was able to figure out that the guy from Earth Country and his husband had won the tournament and he cheered first and loudest. Naruto looked at him, wondering about the outbreak.

“They've won,” Sasuke said. 

“Ah,” Naruto answered. He had not counted the votes as Sasuke had, so he cheered for them when they presented themselves to the audience, just as everyone else did, not because they had won but because they were his friends, and because indeed they had danced well. He cheered for every couple: it was what you did at this tournament, but of course you cheered loudest for your friends.

“You've made it to the finals, too,” the dance teacher told Sasuke while they were waiting for the next couple's judgement, but Sasuke could hardly absorb the information. He had to wait for the last couple's judgement, then the dancers were allowed to leave the stage. Sasuke was the first to embrace the guy from Earth Country and his husband: “I've counted the votes: you've made it,” he said. “You were great!”

They were both still out of breath. “I can't yet believe it,” the local born of the men said. “Others practised far more than we did, and they took this far more seriously.”

“Why?” the dance teacher said. “You were wonderful and very much in harmony. Now I think you need to return to the stage: they figured out the other places too.” 

One by one the couples were called to receive their document that told that they had participated and won this or that place. The top three couples received some medals in addition to the document and also colourful statues of thick women in various sizes. Having won the first place the guy from Earth country and his husband got the biggest one: it was more than sixty centimetres high, and they had to carry it like a baby.

“What are these?” Sasuke asked.

“It's called a nana,” the guy from Earth country explained. “They are the traditional prizes at same sex dance tournaments.” 

Sasuke considered them weird. They were definitely not realistic. They looked a bit like ancient fertility goddesses with huge round torsos and very small arms, legs and heads, but they were made from plastic and painted in bright colours: white and blue and red and green. They were dancing if you could call dancing what they did with their tiny arms and legs

“What are you going to do with it?” he asked.

“Put her on some shelf. Show her around so that everybody sees we've won. - I think it's now time for you to prepare for your own final.” 

Again Sasuke took Naruto with him. This time the husband of the guy from Earth Country accompanied him. “I'll help you,” he said. 

He urged them to renew their make-up, starting with the foundation. He had brought cream and powder in various shades, and he suggested to them to congeal Naruto's whisker marks, but both Sasuke and Naruto were against it.

“Without them, Naruto is not himself,” Sasuke said. “I would not know who I am dancing with.”

The man gave in and continued to help them renew the eyeliner and the mascara, and he offered them some gel as Sasuke's bottle was empty by now. Then he told them to open another button of their shirts.

“It's the finals: you may show off your body,” he said. “You look great after all, so you don't have to hide anything.”

They were extremely nervous when they left the changing-room, and they were in a hurry: they were in fact the last couple to line up and walk on stage. Only when they chose their position next to the other couples on the stage they remembered that they had to calm down. 

“We'll have fun and we'll win,” Sasuke told Naruto while they were waiting to be introduced. They had already been introduced for the preliminaries, but now the moderator took more time to introduce them.

“Now our next couple with the number seventeen are Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke,” he told the audience. “I have been told to announce that they're not from the centre of Music Town, as it's printed in your programme, but from Konoha. Is that correct?” 

“Yes, that's correct. We're from Konoha,” Naruto answered.

“So we're happy to present you a rarity: two guests from the Hidden Leaf,” the moderator continued, speaking to the audience, and turning again to Sasuke and Naruto he said: “Feel welcome here!”

Naruto blushed: he had not expected that changing the information on their place of origin would give them some extra time in the spotlight. He felt confused: for a few seconds his thoughts had not been with Sasuke, or with the friends he had found in Music Town, or at all in the present on the stage where he needed to start to dance when the last couple had been presented to the audience. His thoughts were with the people in Konoha, whom he wanted to support in their struggle against Danzou.

For Sasuke the situation had been easier, and he had managed to remain calm. Taking Naruto's hand he helped him to reorient and to return to the present. When the music started they were both ready to dance. 

The first dance was the rumba. Dancing it for the third time this evening they were quite relaxed by now, and they could spare some attention to smile at the audience and at each other. When the dance ended they revived their judgement: a mix of numbers from one to six, but most were somewhere in the middle. It was also clear that some other couple from their dance club had won the rumba. 

They focused on the cha-cha, trying to make up for the rumba they had lost. Even Sasuke did his best to smile at the audience.

They concentrated and had fun all the same, but again they got a mix of numbers, only that this time there was neither a one nor a six. The same couple as before got the majority of the ones, and Naruto was happy for them, as they were their friends from their own dance club.

Next was the samba, and Naruto sensed that he no longer needed to support Sasuke. Sasuke loved competing, he loved dancing, he knew what he could do, and the only thing he needed was some smile from Naruto to lighten him up. Naruto caressed his cheeks. 

“This time we'll make it – just trust me!”

The samba was a very energetic and very erotic dance, and Sasuke liked it best. He also liked to be close to Naruto while they were dancing. Even though it was a tournament, he felt the excitement that touching each other and then being distant again gave to him. Naruto's smile was all sunshine, it warmed Sasuke's heart, and he smiled in return.

It did not help: again they got a mix of threes and fours, with a single one in between. It was more or less clear now that the other couple from their own club would win the tournament. 

The jive was Naruto's favorite dance. Knowing they were no longer able to win the tournament Sasuke turned to him to tell him that they would just enjoy the dance. 

“We'll give our best,” Naruto said. “We won't give up!”

They danced and this time Sasuke felt that he was supporting Naruto, turning him around and leading him into complicated figures. Naruto seemed to enjoy it, and Sasuke enjoyed that Naruto enjoyed it. 

The dance ended, and again they got a mix of threes and fours with a one in between, this time from a different judge. One last time they thanked the judges for their votes and presented themselves to the audience, then, when the last couple had got their final judgement, they were allowed to leave the stage. Sasuke managed to return to his place next to their dance trainer, while Naruto received their friends' embraces and congratulations (and also in his turn he congratulated their friends who had made the first place.)

“I've counted the votes,” the dance teacher said. “You should come out third, if I have not made a mistake.”

“I don't know what I did wrong,” Sasuke said. “I really tried to remember everything you told us.”

“You were better than ever before,” the dance teacher replied. “I have some ideas what you may work on for the next tournament. One of these days I'll tell you about them, but not now. Now it's not the time. Now is the right time to celebrate what you achieved today. Join Naruto and secure your fair share of the praise!”

Sasuke did so, and he, too, was embraced by everyone and received everyone's congratulations. He also remembered that he was expected to congratulate the couple who had won the first prize, and they congratulated him in return: 

“You really did well too! You surpassed yourselves in that tournament! You learnt a lot in no time at all, and if you continue like this you'll make it to the A-class next year, be it at the tournament on Gay Pride Day or at next year's edition of this tournament.”

Sasuke felt happy again. “You may dance in the A-class too,” he said, remembering what was polite.

“We aren't sure yet,” the men answered. “It would mean that we have to train even more than now. We have jobs and friends who don't dance, and family, and they all missed us these last weeks. We need to relax, and to take a break from dancing. We don't know whether we will again invest so much time in a dance tournament.”

Sasuke found it difficult to understand them. They were good, so why did they not want to train hard to become even better?

It was time to enter the stage again,as the jury had now finished counting the votes and figuring out who had won which place. One by one the couples were called and received their moderators' congratulations, and a document telling which place they had won. Naruto leant against Sasuke. “They haven't forgotten us, have they?” 

Sasuke shook his head. He had understood that they did this from the last to the first place. Having not been called yet was a good sign.

“So now we get to the places on the pedestal: First the third prize which goes to Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke from Konoha.”

Hand in hand they went forward and were welcomed by a man and a woman carrying medals, documents (one for each of them) and a nana of about twenty centimetres' height. They draped the medals around the boys' necks, then Sasuke took the documents and Naruto took the nana. The man and the woman left the stage and the moderator took charge again.

“So now I have a couple of questions for you. I guess I'm not the only one who wondered why you gave Music Town as your place of origin when you registered for the tournament and then changed it to Konoha when you checked in this evening. So where are you really from?”

He turned the microphone to Naruto.

“We're from Konoha,” Naruto replied. 

“And you?” the moderator asked Sasuke.

“Me too.”

“So is it Konoha itself, or one of the surrounding villages?” the moderator asked, turning again to Naruto. 

“We're from Konoha itself. We're ninja,” Naruto said in anticipation of the next question the moderator was going to ask.

“So this is a real premiere for us: the first ninja who participate in our dance tournament. You know, we always have some guests from the ninja countries here, but you're the first actual ninja to participate. So are there some dance schools or dance clubs in Konoha, or are you members of a dance club somewhere else in Fire Country?”

“We're members of the dance club Pink and Silver here in Music Town,” Naruto answered. “They have their home in the gay community center here.”

“So now you live in Music Town?” 

“Yes. We've been living here for half a year now.”

“And did you start to learn to dance only here, or did you begin your careers as dancers in Fire Country?”

“We started to learn to dance only here.”

“So you started to learn to dance only half a year ago, and you are already able to win the third place in a B-class tournament: this shows us that true ninja can do everything they set their mind on.”

He turned to the audience again. “I think our young ninja deserve an extra applause for this!” 

People clapped and cheered. The moderator embraced them both, and congratulated them again. 

“I wish you a great stay here in Music Town. I hope that next year we'll see you again.”

Finally they were allowed to leave while people clapped and cheered again. Sasuke had found the whole interview rather stupid and embarrassing, and he had been glad that Naruto had taken it upon himself to answer the man's questions. Only when he looked at Naruto he saw that he was smiling, and that there was a tear in his eyes. 

“They like celebrating,” Naruto said. “They celebrate everyone here, no matter whether they made the first place or the last.”

This was what families did, Sasuke thought: they showed their happiness about every member of the family. Understanding why Naruto was moved he was moved too, and he drew Naruto closer to himself.

From their place at the back of the stage they watched how the second and then the first couple were called by the moderator to receive their prizes. They cheered and clapped for them now too, and finally even Sasuke allowed himself to melt with the crowd and be engulfed in the general atmosphere of happiness. The victorious couple made them all take each other by the hand and in a long line they ran from one side of the stage to the other, and then back again, raising their hands and cheering to the audience. They did it several times, and even Sasuke forgot himself. 

Finally they had to leave the stage, as the tournament now continued with the straight couples. Together with the couple who had made the first prize they sat down among their friends. They passed around their nana, so that everyone could have a look at her, and they also had a look at the winners' nana, which was not only bigger than their own but which also had three breasts. They laughed and made silly jokes about the nanas, and finally Sasuke was able to relax: they had danced better than ever before, they had achieved more than most people had expected, they could be content and celebrate with the rest. 

A/N: For Nanas, ask your favorite search machine about Niki de SaintPhalle.


	157. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Four: Opening Konoha

Juugo's fostermothers came over to congratulate them too, with Sakura in tow. “You did really well,” they said. “It's a pleasure to watch you, most of all because you smile at people and because you look as if you enjoy what you're doing. Your smile is not frozen like that of the straight couples – just look at them! Even in the B-class there's nothing genuine about them. That you made the third place in this tournament is a wonderful success.”

“You should have won the first prize,” Sakura said. “You were best.”

She looked at Sasuke when she said this, but Naruto answered her: “The winners were much better than us. They've also been training for much longer.”

Sasuke nodded. He felt annoyed that apparently Sakura still regarded him as her personal hero.

The women left, allowing Sasuke and Naruto to enjoy the tournament of the A-class together with their gay friends. They could lean back now, discussing the qualities of this or that female couple (no couple from their own club had made it to the A-class tournament for female couples), and when it was the male couples' turn again they cheered for their friends. It was like football, Naruto thought: with football you also cheered for your own team, and when they won you felt as if you had been on the lawn yourself, but it was also better than football, because here you knew the dancers in person.

It was quite close, but in the end the couple from their own club defeated the guys with the lilac shirts. Sasuke was content: 

“You really don't need to dress up as parrots in order to win a dance tournament,” he said.

“I like it,” Naruto replied. “The dance floor does not need to look all black.”

“You may wear orange next time. Like this you make clear that you're following.”

“Next year I'll lead. Next year you'll be good enough to follow.”

They fell silent. They both knew that their thoughts were the same: Next year they'd be in Konoha.

They leant against each other and held hands while they watched the ceremony to honour the victors of the A-class. There were long interviews with all three top couples, where they were asked how long they had been training and what their plans for the future were.

“We plan to participate in tournaments in places beyond the ninja countries,” the couple from Sasuke's and Naruto's own club said. “We want to see how people in these places dance and what qualities they appreciate and whether we can compete with them. We know it's expensive, but we already started to save money, and we plan to teach beginners' classes. So everyone who's interested is welcome, same sex couples as well as opposite sex couples.”

They were asked to dance their favorite dance one last time, and they chose the samba, no longer hindered by other couples, and everybody could see how well they danced.

“Straight people too see that this is pure aesthetics, and not perverse or disturbing at all,” the husband of the guy from Earth Country told Sasuke and Naruto. “Even the men see this. It's so important for us that there's tournaments and festivals where we can mix with other people without hiding how we feel.”

Sasuke remembered the tournament on his first day in Music Town. He remembered how the couples at the tournament had made him feel that being gay was as respectable as being straight.

“When I first saw dancers on that level my desire was to become as good as they are,” he said. “I hoped to be like them.”

“Well, you've made a lot of progress towards that aim during the last months, haven't you?” the man answered, trying to dissipate Sasuke's melancholy about not having achieved that aim. “Next year you'll be even closer.”

There wouldn't be a next year, Sasuke thought. They'd be in Konoha next year.

The ceremony was over, and the couples were allowed to leave the stage to make room for the straight couples of the A and then of the S-class. The winners were welcomed with kisses and embraces, and then people went on discussing the tournament, and the other couples' performance and looks and costumes, but not the straight couples. After some time the guys with the lilac shirts joined their group, choosing places next to Sasuke and Naruto.

“Are you really from Konoha?” they asked. 

“We are,” Naruto answered. “Why do you ask? Shall we show you?”

“It's because we are from Fire Country.” 

Sasuke looked up their place of origin in the programme: in fact they were from the biggest city of Fire Country, which happened to be not the capital. He wondered how he could have missed the information.

“We follow the events in Konoha in the news, of course, and we are very concerned,” the men said. “Everybody is: With things getting out of hands there we no longer have a functional ninja village. Fortunately we live in a time of peace or the situation might get really difficult. The Daimyou is busy writing letters to his colleagues to tell them that he has no intention of attacking them and that any attack from Danzou's side does not have his support. Do you know more about what's going on there?” 

“We left Konoha to live here in Music Town half a year ago. Our knowledge is confined to what we read in the newspapers. The most recent news we got was that people in Konoha protest against children being taken from their parents in order to raise them as members of Danzou's elite organization Root.”

“There's open protests? So the Daimyou has waited for too long now. A lot of important people in Fire Country kept telling him that he should replace Danzou, but he could not bring himself to act. And now it's too late.” 

“It's not too late,” Naruto replied. “The protests will succeed. Danzou will be forced to give up his post, and he'll be put to trial.”

“You think so? And what do you think will become of Konoha? People in Fire Country fear they might get a civil war there.”

“We'll see that this won't happen,” Naruto answered. 

“We'll see that the insurgency succeeds and that Konoha returns to being a normal, peaceful ninja village.”

“Naruto will be the new Hokage,” Sasuke said, feeling the need to contribute something to the conversation. People looked at him. 

“We've decided to join the insurgents,” he said.

People around them turned silent. Sasuke thought that in the faces of the two men from Fire Country he saw recognition and respect, not the usual disbelief they got from people in Music Town who considered him and Naruto teenagers who could not be taken seriously.

“You will?” the guy from Earth Country, who had been listening, finally asked. 

“Yes. We want to support them,” Sasuke answered. “We can't let them do the fighting all on their own.” 

“We want to tell them to stick to nonviolent tactics,” Naruto added. “They shan't attack, but only employ their ninja tactics in order to protect themselves. We need to tell them, and we need to share the risk, so they know we're serious about it.”

People listened. Their friends from Music Town took them seriously now, too.

“When do you plan to leave?” the guy from Earth Country asked. 

“Tomorrow morning. Our friends brought some important documents that need to be made public, and we plan to take them to the newspaper so that they can get printed.”

“You should have breakfast with us then before you leave,” the man's husband said. “You can't just run away. We'll take a day off from work.”

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other. They had planned to leave Music Town immediately after taking the documents to the newspaper's publishing house.

“And you need to tell people at the training center of the police. You can't just stay away, and then turn up again half a year later and say: sorry, but we had to join the insurgency, and expect them to re-admit you to the training.” 

“We don't plan to return,” Naruto said.

“But you should: you need to complete your training so that you can reestablish the police in Konoha.”

He looked at Sasuke. 

“My family used to be in charge of the police,” Sasuke replied. “I will build on their traditions and on what I've learnt in Music Town so far.” 

“But you'll come back to visit us, won't you?” the guy from Earth Country said. “You'll have to if you want to marry. You can't marry in Konoha.”

“I'll change the law when I'm Hokage,” Naruto said. “Then we'll be able to marry in Konoha.”

He realized that he had hurt these two people whom he really liked. “We'll invite you, however. You'll come to our wedding, won't you?” 

“We'll visit you, too,” Sasuke said. “Once we've defeated Danzou there's no reason not to visit you, after all, is there?” 

He did not know why he was speaking. He could have left the talking to Naruto, after all, but he felt the need to tell the friends he had found in Music Town that he cared and that he would not leave them forever.

“Of course we'll come back for visits,” Naruto said now too. “And when I'm Hokage I'll make certain that kids from Konoha will visit Music Town on a regular basis so that they too may learn to dance and to play musical instruments. We'll also see that someone opens a CD-shop in Konoha, and some clubs where people can play and listen to music. We'll make sure that parties and hanging out on public places won't remain something people in Konoha only know from Icha-Icha, or from missions to other places.”

“Ichiraku won't be happy about the competition,” Sasuke said.

“Who's Ichiraku?” people asked. 

“He runs a ramen stand,” Naruto replied. “It's the only place in Konoha you can go to if you want to spend some time with your friends. There's some advantage to it, however. If you have some spare time and no idea who to call you can always go to Ichiraku's and be certain to meet some acquaintances there, just as here you can always go to the riverside or to the gay community center and meet someone you know.” He thought a bit. He remembered Ichiraku with fondness after all. “When I'm Hokage I'll give him a concession for putting up some tables on the street, so that more people will come, and they will eat in a more leisurely manner. Maybe he can also expand his kitchen and offer more kinds of food than just ramen.”

“We'll tell him about coffee,” Sasuke said. “People in Konoha will like it.”

“We'll invite children from Music Town to visit Konoha,” Naruto continued. “They can come during their vacation and take summer classes in taijutsu. Those who have the talent can learn to forge chakra, and to use ninjutsu and genjutsu too.”

“We'll have to teach them not to use it against people, however,” Sasuke said. “It will be some kind of sport for them.”

People listened. They took them seriously. 

“We'll open Konoha,” Naruto said. “People will learn to think about other things than fighting and they won't consider every stranger a threat.”

People were silent. They listened to Naruto's dream, and started to dream too. From the stage they heard the moderator announce that now the Latin S-class tournament would start. They watched, but their thoughts were elsewhere, as they did not care about the straight couples. The whole group had dissipated by now: Supporting the dancers of their own group had been the purpose of sitting together, so now that the tournament for same-sex couples was over they were free to walk around and meet some other friends or their family.

Sasuke and Naruto did not walk around, but Kakashi and Karin joined them at their table. Karin was a bit shy around the guys with the lilac shirts, but with time she gained confidence and asked them to be allowed to have a look at the nana they had won.

“We have one too,” the guy from Earth Country said while Karin looked at the nana of the two men with lilac shirts. He picked the nana up from the floor where he had put her because she was too big for the table. He passed her to Karin.

“Ours is bigger, and she has three breasts!” 

“They sell them in the women's bookstore here, too,” Karin said. “They are much smaller, however, and they have magnets in their bellies so that you can use them to pin notes to the fridge as ‘don't forget to buy milk’”

“So they're useful at least,” Sasuke said. 

“But she's cute, isn't she?” Naruto said. He was still holding her on his lap, and caressing her belly.

“You don't want me to look like that, do you`”

“You're cute as you are,” Naruto replied, embracing and kissing him. Normally Sasuke did not like being called cute, but this time he didn't care. (Also he considered Naruto cute in his turn, but he knew better than to tell him.)

Juugo's fostermothers joined them too, bringing Sakura with them. They also wanted to have a closer look at the nanas, and contrary to the men the two lesbians dared to discuss them in detail: “She does not only have three breasts, she also has three arms!” 

“And the left leg is weird. I don't think it's anatomically possible that it's turned out like this.”

“But she seems to be happy even if her legs are twisted in a way that indicates they are broken. She seems to enjoy herself.”

“She represents the joy of life. Therefore she's painted in bright colours.”

“There's another one at the backside of the museum,” the first woman explained to the rest of the group. “She's three metres high, and you can walk inside. She's a symbol of universal motherhood.”

“I haven't ever seen anyone inside, however,” the second woman added. “I guess it's too dark, and there's not enough space.”

Sasuke and Naruto had seen the statue, but they had never given it any attention.

“I still cannot believe you participated in a contest for dancing,” Kakashi said. “I can't believe you are content with the third place, or with a weird price as this statue of a fat woman.”

“But she's pretty, isn't she?” Naruto said. “You want to hold her? You may touch her if you want.”

Kakashi took the nana, and everyone could see that he was rather embarrassed about touching her belly. “You should touch her breasts too,” the guy from Earth Country suggested. “Even if she has only two breasts, not three, as ours. But I don't think they are going to share.”

He was referring to Juugo's fostermothers who were still holding the big nana on their laps. 

“I guess it's okay that we've won the third prize, not the first,” Naruto said. “Otherwise we'd have to carry the big nana back to Konoha.”

Those who had not yet heard the news stared at him.

“We plan to support the insurgency.”

“Are you certain?” one of Juugo's fostermothers asked. “Don't you think it's too risky? You have a life here: you should not waste it getting killed by Danzou's army.”

“It's risky, but it's even riskier for our friends who have now started the insurgency,” Naruto replied. “We need to be with them and to share the risk.”

“You shouldn't do it,” the woman said. “We need you here. We care for you, and we'll miss you when you leave. We'll miss you if you die.”

“Our friends in Konoha need us too,” Naruto said. He felt moved by the woman's words, and his voice had become soft and gentle. Still the woman understood that there was no way to dissuade him and Sasuke. 

“When do you plan to leave?” she asked.

“Tomorrow. We wanted to leave before daybreak, but we need to inform people at the police, and we need to take the documents Sakura brought to Music Town to the newspaper's publishing-house. And also they” – he pointed to the guy from Earth Country and his husband - “want us to have breakfast with them.”

“Then you should have lunch with us!” the woman said. 

“Like this I have some time to pack and prepare for the journey,” Sakura added. 

“You stay here,” Naruto said. “You need time to relax, and to adapt to Music Town. You've done more than enough.”

Sakura looked as if she wanted to contradict him, but the two women were faster: “He's correct: You've done more than enough. You stay here in Music Town.”

“You may look after our flat,” Sasuke suggested. He preferred Sakura not to come with them. “We'll come back when the insurgency was successful, and then we'll decide whether we'll continue our training at the police.”

“That's a great suggestion,” the women said. “You stay here, look after their flat and learn to live in Music Town.”

“It won't be difficult to find a job,” Karin said. “If they discover you're a med nin both ill and healthy people will come to you in flocks and ask for treatment.”


	158. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Five: Take care!

It took the two men from Fire Country (the ones with the lilac shirts) some time to understand that Sakura and Kakashi were from Konoha and had left the village only a few days ago, but when they had understood they started to ask them questions: about the political situation in Konoha, about the support Danzou still had among the population, about his plans and ideas, and also about the recent protests. 

“A lot of people are not content,” Sakura said. “But they still think that what they're going through is some kind of necessary evil, and they don't consider standing up against Danzou. Apparently Hinata thinks that now the time has come to make them change their mind and help her protect Kurenai's baby.”

They discussed what was going on: People who were actively working against Danzou, people who still supported him, and all those who were indifferent. Naruto and Sasuke told about their plan to publish the documents Sakura had brought to Music Town, and the men in lilac shirts supported them:

“People in Fire Country read the newspapers from Music Town. If the civilian population of Fire Country asks for Danzou's dismissal the daimyou will have have to give in. Danzou won't be able to remain in office any longer.”

“I just hope you'll manage a quick transition without too much chaos,” his partner added, and Naruto realized that even if they managed to make Danzou retreat from office there was still a lot of work to do. 

Sasuke has some ideas, he thought. He wants to reestablish the police. Concerning his own aims he only knew that he wanted to become Hokage, but not what he wanted to do as Hokage. This evening, when he had spoken about sending Konoha's teenagers to Music Town and invite Music Town's children to spend their vacations in Konoha, it had been the first time thathe had considered what he might do to change the future of Konoha.

Saying good-bye when they parted was awkward. Sasuke and Naruto embraced everyone, and people said: “See you tomorrow!” and sounded very serious. Tomorrow would be the last time, they realized. 

They went home, Naruto carrying the nana in his arms as if she was a little child. Sasuke had laid his arm around Naruto and watched him caressing the figure's belly.

“You like her,” he said, “even though she's weird.”

“You want to hold her too?” 

He gave her to Sasuke, and Sasuke also automatically held her in his arms as if she was a little child. Without being aware of it he caressed her too. 

“We'll show her to people in Konoha,” Naruto said. “They'll see that there's people who do tournaments for dancing, not for fighting, where not only the first, but also the third place wins you a prize, which is a little statue of a thick woman. They'll see that there's people whose life doesn't only consist of fighting.”

They went on without much talking. Both of them felt the reality of their departure set in, and they were glad that they would not leave Music Town by break of dawn, but only later.

In the morning they first went to the newspaper's publishing house and asked to talk to the editors.

“We had an article published and we want to see whether it made it to the paper,” Sasuke said. “Also we have some documents on Konoha you may be interested in.”

“What kind of documents?” the woman behind the counter asked, but by now Sasuke had understood that she was just an assistant who accepted advertisements.

“Secret documents on the attack of the kyuubi,” he replied. “I'll show them to your boss. And I'd like to have a look at today's newspaper.”

“There is one in the corner,” the woman replied. Indeed there were newspapers on sticks there, as they had seen them a couple of times in restaurants and cafes. 

She left through the back door to fetch the editor, and Sasuke and Naruto sat down. Sasuke found the article on the second page of the local news: It was right in the center, with a photo on top of it, and it went over several columns, and below his own text there was a box with the interview where they spoke about their life in Music Town. Sasuke was pleased. 

“We'll ask them for a couple of copies so that we can take them to Konoha,” he said.

The woman who had helped them write the article arrived and invited them to come inside to the journalists' offices. 

“Is there anything wrong?” she asked. “You know, we had to shorten it a bit as other news had come in that needed to be fitted into the page. By the way, there's a photo of you in the sports section, too. Have you seen it?” 

The photo was part of an article on the dance tournament. Naruto also discovered himself in the background of a photo of the parade in the morning. 

“I guess we'll have to buy a copy of the newspaper so that we can show it to people in Konoha,” Sasuke said.

“You can have one for free,” the woman said. “As an author you are entitled to this.”

She got up and brought them three copies. “There's always more than enough.”

Sasuke thanked her.

“So what else? You haven't come to complain, have you?” 

“We haven't. On the contrary: we have brought more material we want to get published.”

“More articles? Have you been writing again?” 

“I haven't. Friends of us have brought documents that prove that when the kyuubi attacked Konoha almost twenty years ago it was Danzou who had asked the masked man to call it. We've considered what to do with them, because we want them to be read by as many people as possible, but on the other hand we need to protect and preserve them. This is why we thought that getting them printed might be a good idea.”

“May I have a look at them?” The woman asked. 

Sasuke put the documents on the table. 

“These will cause a scandal,” she said when she had read them. “At least if they're genuine. We need to check them first, because if they're fakes we'd make fools of ourselves, but we'll publish them as soon as we're convinced of their authenticity.”

“Who are you going to ask to check them?” 

“We have some experts of our own, but we'll also ask the experts at the university for advice. It will take a couple of days.”

“We know someone at the university who's an expert on Konoha,” Sasuke said. “And there's experts at the police, too.”

“You're in a hurry, aren't you?” 

“We plan to leave Music Town and to return to Konoha.”

“And I guess you want to arrive there while the insurgency is still going on. I understand.”

Sasuke nodded.

“So I have a suggestion: I make photocopies of the documents and you go and inform the experts at the police and the university. If they think the documents worth of being checked, that is, if they don't just have a look at them and say that they're obviously faked, we'll publish them, with some line that this is just preliminary and that we're still waiting for the ultimate proof of their authenticity. I mean, we just can't miss the chance of being the first to publish this! It will change our outlook on the history of the ninja countries!”

Sasuke swallowed. “We meant to leave today, and take the prints with us.”

“That's not possible, I'm afraid. The newspaper is printed during the night. If you come here tomorrow at five a.m. we can give you some copies to take to Konoha. Do you think that this is still early enough so that you arrive before the insurgency has ended?” 

Sasuke looked at Naruto.

“It's okay,” Naruto said. “Like this we won't arrive empty-handed.” 

“I'll inform my boss, and our experts,” the woman said. She got up to make photocopies of the documents, and gave the originals back to Sasuke when she returned.

“We'll come back in the afternoon to tell you whether the experts at the police and at the university just cast a glance at them and said that they are fakes,” Sasuke said as they parted.

He and Naruto first chose the way to the head quarter of the police. By now Sasuke knew quite well the way to the head of the police once they were inside, and he was confident that he would be admitted to talk to him. Still he had to deal with his assistant.

“At the moment he's talking to someone else,” she said. “What shall I tell him when he asks me what you want to talk about?” 

“Tell him we have some documents from Konoha which need to be checked for authenticity. Also, we plan to leave Music Town and join the insurgents.”

“Are you serious? It's far too dangerous now.”

Sasuke shook his head. “Not for us. We used to be prosecuted by Danzou. For us it's less dangerous than ever.”

“But you don't have to! Your life is here now! You can stay and finish your training. This is your life now. Don't waste your lives!” 

“Joining the insurgency to drive Danzou out of office does not mean to waste our lives,” Naruto said. “It means to do what we longed to do since we left Konoha. It would mean the fulfillment of our greatest desire.”

“Just don't get killed. No one gains anything if you get killed.”

“We won't get killed. Both of us are extremely powerful ninja. It's not so easy to kill us.”

The door of the head of the police's office opened. The people he had been talking to were leaving, and he accompanied them to the door to wish them good-bye. When he saw Sasuke and Naruto both were able to read his thoughts: You again. 

“What's it this time?” he asked. 

“They want to leave Music Town,” his assistant said.

“Why?” 

“People have started to protest against Danzou,” Sasuke replied. “It's now all in the open. We want to support them.”

“You don't have to. Your place is here now. You need to finish your training. You will be more useful both to people in Music Town and to people in Konoha if you finish your training and then return to Konoha to reestablish the police than if you return to Konoha now and die during the insurgency.”

He was speaking to Sasuke, but Naruto answered him: “There's another reason: I want to tell them to use nonviolent means against Danzou. We can't do this however without sharing the risk. We can't tell them to stand up against Danzou without fighting him, and to die if things go wrong, if we are not ready to die with them.”

“Nonviolent means? In Konoha? Are you kidding? Here the police will do everything to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed, but Danzou's Root won't be so gentle. If they meet people who resist them they'll simply kill them all.”

“That's not certain,” Naruto replied. “I've read that it worked in dictatorships that were worse than Konoha under Danzou.”

“I haven't heard of any of them. And before you get killed you should fight back. So what are your plans? Do you intend to return to Music Town once the insurgency has been successful?” 

Sasuke looked at Naruto. “We haven't talked about it yet. I'd like to return and to finish my training, but Naruto wants to be Hokage of Konoha.”

The head of the police looked at Nrauto. “Aren't you a bit too young for that?” 

“My father was just a few years older than I am now when he was asked to become the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. The office has nothing to do with age, it's about what you're ready to do for your village. Turning Danzou out of office will gain me a lot of respect, and even the office of Hokage.”

While he was talking Naruto realized that being Hokage was not so important to him any more. It had been his dream when he had been a child, but also it had been a childish dream, and he had grown out of it. 

The head of the police looked at Sasuke, and then at Naruto again, but when he spoke he spoke to Sasuke. 

“Separation is out of question for you, I guess. I mean, there's couples who live separated from each other for a year or two and only see each other on weekends. True love survives this.”

Sasuke and Naruto had been holding hands all the time, but now they pressed them. 

“Our idea of love is different,” Naruto said.


	159. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Six: Elephant Baby

Sasuke and Naruto told the head of the police of the documents Sakura had brought to Music Town, and he signed an official order for the experts of the police to check them for authenticity. 

“You can take it there yourselves,” he said. “And also, you should take some time to say good-bye to your classmates. They'll miss you.”

They agreed that in the afternoon the whole class would get some time off for this, and then both Sasuke and Naruto promised him that they would return to Music Town, and be it only for a visit, and that they would be alive at their return. They felt weird, and their hearts hurt. 

Visiting the experts came as some kind of relief, as they did not have to tell them that they were going to leave Music Town. The experts had a look at the documents, and they did not declare that they were obviously faked, but they said that they needed the experts from the university to help them, as they were not specialized in documents from the ninja villages. 

“If this is true, and if Danzou asked that masked man to call the kyuubi, it will be the end of his time as Hokage,” they said. “The other kages will have an official reason not to meet with him any more, and the daimyou will be forced to ask him to step down from office. He'll welcome it, I guess.”

The experts at the police told them where to find the experts from university, and they also gave them a letter, asking those experts for support.

“We can't come with you as we have other work to do, but we'll visit them later to discuss the documents.”

Sasuke and Naruto left and realized that it was getting later and later. Sasuke steered Naruto to the place of the guy from Earth Country and his husband.

“We're sorry that we're late,” he said. “And we are even more sorry that we have to tell you that it will get even later. We need to take the documents our friends brought to Music Town, the ones that prove that Danzou was in alliance with the man who called the kyuubi, to some experts from the university and get them checked for authenticity.”

“I thought you wanted to depart as early as possible,” the guy from Earth Country said. 

“We've changed our plans. We need to get these documents checked and printed. We'll pick them up tomorrow morning before dawn, and then we'll leave.”

“Like this we won't arrive empty-handed,” Naruto explained. “We'll distribute the paper among people in Konoha, so that more of them will join the insurgency.”

“But first we need to seek out the experts at the university,” Sasuke added.

“Well, then we'll have breakfast in the afternoon. It's all okay to us. The longer you stay in Music Town the happier we are.”

They went to the university, but instead of looking for the experts Sasuke first went to the Ph.D. student they had spoken to some time ago.

He looked up when he saw them. 

“We have found something we thought you might be interested in,” Sasuke said. “Friends from Konoha have managed to escape from the village and flee to Music Town, and they brought some documents about the kyuubi's attack against Konoha at the time of Naruto's birth.”

He gave the documents to the Ph.D. student, who read them and then stared at the boys. 

“What do you think?” Sasuke asked.

“It's like the last piece of the puzzle. It's always been clear that the kyuubi's attack came quite convenient to Danzou: It allowed him to get rid of Minato, and it allowed him to blame the kyuubi's attack on the Uchiha.”

“So this would rehabilitate my family,” Sasuke said.

“I haven't thought of it, but yes, this would be proof that your family had nothing to do with the kyuubi's attack and that the accusations against them were wrong.”

“So people will understand that their hatred against my family was without any foundation.”

“I'm not certain about this. I guess most of them have always known that their hatred was unjust and without foundation, so giving them proof won't change that. People normally get stubborn when you tell them that the prejudices they've kept for a long time are wrong.”

The words hurt Sasuke, even though he knew that probably they were correct.

“But why – why did they hate us so much that they wanted us all dead?” 

“I'm not so certain that hatred was Danzou's primary motive, even though he certainly did not like the Uchiha. After all they had provided Minato with the evidence that allowed him to disband Root. Still I think that his main motivation was that he wanted you to be the sole survivor of your clan.”

“He wanted me to survive?”

“I think that this was what he was aiming for.”

Sasuke had no idea what to say. 

“Danzou's most important aim was to establish a new jinchuuriki in order to return to Konoha's old ways of doing politics: be stronger than everyone else so that other countries fear you, and you can do what you want. With the kyuubi's attack, and with Minato sealing the kyuubi into you” - he was looking at Naruto now – “he had the jinchuuriki he longed for. However, he also needed an Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan, and this was the role he had in mind for you. The only problem was that the clan opposed the idea that one of them should acquire the Mangekyou Sharingan, both because of what you need to do in order to acquire it and because of its negative side effects on your eyesight. So he needed you alone, without your family to protect you.”

“And for this he killed them all.”

“It's like when in former times people wanted to capture a young elephant or a gorilla baby. They'd have to kill the entire family in order to lay their hands on the little one, because otherwise the whole family would fight for their baby.”

“Sasuke is not an elephant, or an ape,” Naruto said. 

“Of course not. And nowadays it's even forbidden to kill elephants or gorillas in order to capture their babies. But Danzou did not shrink away from killing humans.”

“And my brother collaborated with this,” Sasuke said. “He murdered the family and turned me into a lonely vulnerable child.”

“You already explained to me why he did this: he was being manipulated. People had told him that in order to preserve peace he had to murder his family.”

“I sometimes wonder if there isn't a grain of truth in it. He wanted to avoid a rebellion from the side of the Uchiha, and now we'll really have a rebellion. Itachi feared that a rebellion and a civil war in consequence of that rebellion might lead to another war.”

“There's no such grain of truth! Really! I mean it! Forget it! Your brother was being lied to. Danzou was never interested in peace. At best he was interested in the safety of Konoha, but that's not the same as peace. I don't think that other countries will attack Konoha because of the present rebellion. Konoha has been in a state of weakness for months and they haven't attacked her, so why should they now? They don't want to get stuck in a civil war. So it's only the rebellion itself, but that's a result of Danzou's politics. You don't need to feel responsible for it in any way. Also, it's not clear that if your brother had refused to murder your family he would have caused a rebellion.”

Naruto took Sasuke's hand. “It will be a nonviolent rebellion,” he said. “We'll see to it.” 

“You want to join the insurgents?” The Ph.D. student asked. 

“We will.”

The man swallowed. “Take care of yourself.”

At least he did not try to convince them to stay in Music Town. 

“And when you return, tell me how it went.”

Naruto didn't answer, as he still was not certain whether he wanted to return. 

“There's something I wanted to ask you,” he said. “You said that Sasuke's family tried to protect him against having to acquire the Mangekyou Sharingan. You said that even gorillas and elephants do everything to protect their young ones. But my father did not protect me against being turned into a jinchuuriki. He himself sealed the juubi into me. It's been bothering me since we last met.”

The man had to think for a long time before he found an answer.

“It's as you said: Your father wasn't an elephant or a gorilla, but a human being. Animals follow their instincts. People however have to think about what they're going to do. Your father was in a dilemma: the kyuubi had attacked, and it was his duty to fight him off. He knew that he could only defeat him at the prize of his own life. He knew that he would not be able to protect you when all this was over. Maybe he thought that life as a jinchuuriki would be easier for you than life as the child whom his father had refused to turn into a jinchuuriki.”

“He might have left Konoha and raised me in some other place.”

“He might have done this. I guess it was incompatible with his sense of duty. He was the Hokage of Konoha after all.”

“So Konoha was more important to him than I was.”

“I am certain that you were important to him too. Your father was a good man. He was Hokage only for a couple of years, but during these years he did what he could to turn Konoha into a peaceful village that's well respected by the other villages. He did what he could to keep Danzou in check, and he disbanded Root. Still the political situation remained difficult. Not everyone in Konoha was happy with the reforms your father introduced. Some were glad to see him gone after the kyuubi's attack. And also, there's nothing he could have done against Danzou and the masked man cooperating to call the kyuubi. It was not his fault.”

He paused to think again. 

“Your father was a good man, but he was human, and he had to choose what to do in a horrible situation. Maybe he was not perfect. Maybe when you think about it, you will retain your conviction that he should have left Konoha in order to raise you in some other place. But it was him, not you, who had to come to a decision in that situation. Still I am certain that he loved you and that he would have loved to raise you himself. Maybe when you return to Konoha, after the insurgency has been successful, you may be able to find some personal documents like a journal or letters to your mother that show how much he loved you and how he was looking forward to your birth. And if you can't find anything personal there's still what he did as Hokage. If you have nothing else, then what he did as Hokage may convince you that all in all he was a good man, and a father to be proud of, and a Hokage whose tradition you may continue when you yourself become Hokage.”

Naruto was silent. He did not know what to think.

“Sasuke's family wanted to adopt me after the kyuubi's attack” ,he finally said. “Our friend from Konoha brought with her the proceedings of the meeting of the clan council where they decided to make the Uchiha move to some distant corner of the village. Apparently they used the fact that they wanted to adopt me as a pretext for banning them.”

“Proceedings?” the Ph.D. student said, suddenly sounding excited. “And she's here in Music Town? Can you tell her to see me, and to bring the documents with her?” 

“We can,” Naruto answered, feeling confused by the man's change of mood. After a few seconds, however, he got serious again. 

“Maybe your father knew that he was going to die,” he said. “Maybe he had made arrangements with the Uchiha that they would adopt you.”

“Maybe,” Naruto answered.

The man looked at both of them. “It's so weird: parts of Danzou's plan worked out: you're the jinchuuriki, and Sasuke has the Mangekyou Sharingan, and he's at your side to act as your back-up in case the kyuubi gets out of control. Only that he can't use you as his tools any more: Killerbee has helped you to make friends with the kyuubi, and also you've left Konoha in time. You have come to Music Town and learnt about other approaches to politics, and you've a mind of your own. He can't use you any more as if you were twelve years old.”


	160. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Seven: See you in Konoha!

They embraced the Ph.D. student because they saw that he was too shy to do this from his own accord.

“Come back and tell me about the insurgency when it's over!” he said. “And remember: for this you need to stay alive.”

They thanked him and left in order to see the experts of the university. They gave them the letter of the experts from the police, and also the Ph.D. student's regards. To their relief the experts did not cast a glance at the documents and declared that they were faked, but explained to them that they were printed on the right kind of paper, with the right typeface, in the right colour. 

“If they're fakes, they are well-made fakes, forged by experts.” they said, but they also told them that they would have to do some more tests. They would inform the experts at the police and the publishing-house, meaning that Sasuke and Naruto did not have to return there themselves and tell the news to the journalists. 

“It's out of our hands now.” Sasuke said when they left the experts. He had been carrying the documents all day, but now his hands were empty, and he felt weird. “There's nothing to do for us any more except picking up the copies of the newspaper tomorrow morning.” 

They went to visit Juugo's fostermothers. Sakura was there, too, and they told her to visit the Ph.D. student and gave her one of the keys to their flat. They told them about their change of plan, and Naruto told them about his intention to distribute the newspaper among the people of Konoha to encourage them to stand up against Danzou. The women had prepared a meal with several courses, and also some food for the journey. 

“Come back!” they said when they parted. “Take care of yourselves!”

They embraced, and then Sasuke and Naruto embraced the little girls, and also their older brothers. The latter were a bit stiff at first, but then they decided that on such an occasion it was okay to be embraced by men. They also embraced Sakura, but this felt very awkward.

They visited their class: they had never thought that saying good-bye might take a whole day. Their classmates wished them luck and a quick victory, and even those who weren't close to them seemed impressed by their intentions to participate in a real insurgency, and they were genuinely concerned and told them they hoped that they would not get hurt. 

It was time to visit the guy from Earth Country and his husband. It felt weird to have breakfast in the afternoon, but it didn't really matter. Both Sasuke and Naruto were very emotional by now. They felt their friends' sadness and despair and were affected by it. Suddenly their departure began to feel real. They tried not to show their feelings: they exchanged gossip, and Naruto spoke about his intentions to change Konoha. In the end the two men told them to accompany them to the gay community center so that there they could say good-bye to their fellow dancers. They felt overwhelmed by people's emotions, most of all those of the people they had not really been close to. They did not know what to make of them. 

“We can't stay to dance with you tonight.” Naruto said. “There's some other people we also need to say good-bye to.”

The guy from Earth Country and his husband accompanied them outside. One time after the other they embraced them, holding them tight. It was dark, so Sasuke and Naruto could not see their tears, but they could feel them. They kissed them on their cheeks and even on their mouth, but without using their tongue.

“Come back! Stay alive! Take care of yourselves!” they said one time after the other. “We'll miss you!”

“We'll miss you too.” Naruto answered, feeling his own tears now on his cheeks. “We'll return! Definitely!” 

After a quarter of an hour they parted. Both Sasuke's and Naruto's hearts hurt. They'd miss Music Town, and they'd miss the friends they had found here. 

They knew where to find their friends from the riverside: now that it was too cold to hang out at the river they normally met in some pub in the vicinity of the university (most of them were students.)

“We've been talking about you.” they said when Sasuke and Naruto entered the pub.

“What? Why?” Sasuke asked, wondering how and when they had heard of his and Naruto's intentions to leave Music Town.

“We've been discussing the article you wrote for the newspaper.”

Sasuke felt blank. He had almost forgotten about the article.

“The picture you paint of Music Town is quite flattering.”

“Is it?” 

“Yes, really. You still havent't understood anything. It's all nice and shiny on the surface, but you haven't seen the dark side.”

“I've seen a lot of Music Town, and compared to the dark sides of Konoha it's all a light gray. Really, it's you who haven't understood what your town looks like to people like us, from Konoha. You spend your time discussing what's wrong in Music Town, but you have no idea what's right here. I mean, even that you have leisure to hang out and discuss the shortcomings of Music Town is one of the things that's right here. Go to Konoha, then you'll see that your lives here are easy and bright compared to what people go through there.”

“Thanks for asking us to compare Music Town to the worst dictatorship on the continent.”

Sasuke was silent. He felt angry.

“There's other places on the other side of the world.” one of the young women said. “There they have real democracy. There, power and wealth are not concentrated in the hands of a few families. That's what we should aim for. Here they think that rule of law and trying to do what people want are substitutes for real participation.”

“So why do you spend your time hanging around, discussing what's better on the other side of the world? Why don't you do anything? Why don't you participate?” 

“Discussing is participating. Words change the world.” 

Sasuke fell silent. Fortunately Naruto now joined the conversation.

“We stumbled upon one of the dark sides of Music Town when we went to the newspaper to get Sasuke's article published.” he said. “We needed the consent of the higher-ups of Music Town because we already got into trouble when we gave that interview to Urban Lady.” 

“You shouldn't have asked for the higher-ups' consent, nor should the newspaper have asked them for their consent. That's censorship, after all.” one of the young women said.

“They gave their consent.” Naruto answered. “There was nothing offensive about Sasuke's article. On the contrary, as you said it was rather flattering. Even when they complained about the interview in Urban Lady they didn't consider it offensive to Music Town, but they feared that it might offend Konoha. Sasuke's new text is even more offensive to Konoha, but the higher-ups of Music Town don't mind. They think that they're able to fight off Konoha, with me, the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki and also the Hachibi's jinchuuriki defending Music Town.”

“So why do you feel surprised?” 

“I thought that people in Music Town did not believe in violence. I thought they trusted in a complicated system of peace treaties to keep them safe.”

“That's just a euphemism for trusting in the other ninja villages' ability and willingness to protect them. They trust in military strength, just as everyone else, and now that they feel strong themselves, with the Kyuubi and the Hachibi within the walls of Music Town, they trust in their own strength. Their trust in peace treaties was just the consequence of their own weakness. They're not better people here than elsewhere.”

“But they expect me to fight for Music Town if Konoha asks them to extradite me. How should I fight my own friends?”

“Are you still loyal to Konoha?” 

“I'm not loyal to Konoha, but I'm still loyal to my friends who live there. I don't want to fight them. I don't want to fight at all. I don't want to use the Kyuubi. I'm glad I was able to befriend it so that it's at peace now.”

People went silent. Naruto wondered whether they understood his position.

“You might flee westward.” one woman finally said. “When Konoha threatens to attack Music Town, and Music Town puts you under pressure to use the kyuubi against your own friends, you may leave Music Town and search for the countries beyond the mountains, beyond the desert, beyond the sea, and find refuge there. Konoha can't attack them. There you'd be able to learn more about the people in your book. And one day, when the situation is safe again, you'll be able to return and to tell us about life in those places.”

Naruto considered it: Being a refugee again, in a place that was even stranger than Music Town. He still remembered his first weeks in Music Town, when everything had been strange and when he had felt lonely and desperate and longed to be at home. This time it would not be that bad: this time he would have Sasuke at his side. Still leaving Music Town and all the people he knew here in order to search for the mysterious places that had inspired the changes in Music Town seemed like an act of desperation and not like an adventure that might be a lot of fun.

“It doesn't matter.” he said. “We won't flee westward. We'll join the insurgency against Danzou.”

“You're returning to Konoha?” 

“We are. We came to say good-bye.”

They saw the admiration in their friends' faces. They were no longer teenagers who needed to be taught about politics. After some time people started to whisper among each other. 

“We'll come with you.” one of them said. 

“To Konoha? What for?” 

“To participate in the rebellion.”

“What?” 

“We too want to make this world a better place.”

“It's too dangerous for you!”

“It's not more dangerous for us than for you.”

“We are ninja. You aren`t.”

“Still we can contribute to the rebellion.”

They were good at talking, Sasuke thought. If Naruto wanted to stick to non-violent tactics they might be useful. The problem was that they themselves did not believe in non-violent means as Naruto did, and that their theories were beyond the understanding of the inhabitants of Konoha.

“When do you plan to leave?” people asked. 

“At five a.m. We need to pick up the newspaper first.”

He explained about the documents Sakura had brought to Music Town. 

“We'll leave before daybreak. When I came here from Konoha the journey took me three days. This time we hope to make it in two.”

Again people were whispering, discussing Naruto's announcement among themselves.

“Five a.m. Is a bit early. We need time to pack. If we leave at ten or eleven we'll still be in time.”

“You can't come with us. You'd slow us down. We are ninja. In wooded areas we travel by jumping from tree to tree.”

“Then we'll follow you at our own pace.”

“It's still too dangerous.”

“We'll join a revolution. It may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” 

“You'll have to face Danzou! You'll have to face Root! You may die.”

“We can look after ourselves. You can't tell us to stay – it's our own decision.”

Someone asked who was going to come with them the next morning, and about half the group decided to go. Without believing their ears Sasuke and Naruto listened as their friends discussed the details of their adventure: where and when to meet, what to pack, how to travel. At least, saying good-bye was not as sad and heart-breaking as saying good-bye to the rest of their friends.

“See you in Konoha!” they said. “Don't defeat Danzou before our arrival!”

Sasuke and Naruto hoped to be able to take him out of office before their friends joined them. It was too dangerous to have them with them when the rebellion was still going on, but they and their ideas might be useful when they were reorganizing Konoha. 

They went home without talking. They kissed and made love when they went to bed, but they did not go over three rounds. Afterwards they stood in the living-room completely naked, holding each other in their arms, just feeling each other's bodies. 

“It's like a dream.” Naruto said. “But I am also sad to leave Music Town. We'll come back, however, at least for visits.”

At five a.m. in the morning they arrived at the publishing-house of the newspaper. People had been considerate: instead of ten copies of the whole paper they gave them a hundred copies of the article.

They left Music Town before daybreak. 

Epilogue: So that's it. I want to thank all of you who followed the story, those who read only the love story, and also those who read the rest. I am fully aware that the story is too long, but there was a point when I decided to go on and to continue it the way I started it. I thought that cutting it short, or that changing to a faster style might ruin it. If I wanted to shorten it, I would have to do it after the story was finished, so that I had an idea how long every part had become, and which parts had really become dead ends that were not needed for the rest of the plot. 

So what have I learnt: that I should not use too much plot. My writing style will turn even a small plot into a long story, mostly because I love to write dialogue. (But there's other reasons too.) Maybe I also should learn to cover long stretches of time in only a few pages instead of writing “scenes”. 

At the moment, however, I don't think that I will rewrite and shorten the story. I have worked on it for almost four years, it has been a lot of work, and now in some way I am glad that it's over, though I am also a bit sad. Thinking about my story was something I might do when I had nothing else on my mind, and all in all I enjoyed it (and this last chapter expresses my sadness about saying good-bye to the characters). Now I have to find something else to do with hours of leisure. On the other hand I have moved on: Maybe not only from the story, but also from the manga. I also realize that I could not again write a love story as the one that is covered by the first third of the chapter: my mind is elsewhere now. 

I think there was a time when I considered writing about the rebellion/revolution itself, but only a few weeks after starting the actual writing of the story it got clear to me that it had to be only about the boys' stay in Music Town. I am now rather glad that I did not take it upon me to write about a revolution: mostly because we have seen quite a lot of revolutions in the news these last two years. I would not have wanted to compete with them. 

I have some ideas about what happens after the revolution: how they deal with Danzou, how Konoha is reorganized, and most of all what our heroes do when the revolution is over. (Yes, I think it will be successful.) I considered writing about it, but now I think it's better if everyone has her or his own dreams 

I have had a lot of sources of inspiration for this story, but my main inspiration was “From Dictatorship to Democracy” by Gene Sharp. It can found here: http: //www. Engaged- zen.org/ PDFarchive /From_ Dictatorship_to_ Democracy. Pdf (without spaces – it's a rather lengthy pdf.document, so be careful). Of course I have also been influenced by the real revolutions I witnessed in my life, though not so much the Arab spring but rather the revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe and also the revolutions against “Western” dictators in Latin America or in Indonesia and the Philippines. The Arab spring had not started when I began to write my story, and I was a bit at a loss about how to deal with it, but then I decided to stick to my original concept. We still have no idea how things will work out in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya or Syria... 

I have heard that the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt were actually influenced by Gene Sharp. I don't know how much of it is true: I only know that one day my Twitter-Timeline was full of comments from Egyptians who were angry about the idea that they should need an “old white man” to tell them how to do a revolution. (But it was not only Gene Sharp himself – I have also heard that they learnt from some kind of “academy for revolutionaries” in Belgrad called Otpor. Now from an Egyptian perspective Belgrad is not West, but mostly North... ) 

Now I think that this is a bit unjust. I don't know how much they really learnt from him, but they certainly learnt from other revolutions in other parts of the world (they would be stupid if they had not). They also expanded the repertoire of revolutionary activities: putting up tents and demonstrating for several weeks without stop was new (and revolutionaries elsewhere adopted this method.) But what's also important is that Gene Sharp himself learnt from revolutionaries all over the world, most of all Gandhi, who was certainly not an “old white man”. 

So now I come to speak of a point of criticism that often hurt me: people accused me of racism. Now of course it's stupid to say “I didn't meant it”, so I will say: I am ready to answer to any criticism that is based on my story. I don't answer to criticism that is based only on the blurb. To people who criticize me on the basis of the blurb, I only say: please read the precise words I have written. I wrote “modern,” not “western”. 

“Modern” is not the same as “western”, even though some identify it with this. I think that “modern” can be most easily defined by its opposite, “traditional”, meaning that you do things in a certain way because that's how you always did them. “Modern” means that you reconsider what you have done for all your life and ask yourself whether this is really the best way, or if there are not other, better ways. It also means to accept other ways of doing things, if they are morally neutral – it does not mean to accept everything in an inflated understanding of tolerance. 

There have been various periods in history when people questioned their tradition in such a way, and they happened in various areas of the world. It's not a European prerogative. (And it would be a contradiction in itself if it was. It's not “European Tradition”.)

Now of course the society the heroes encounter in Music Town is quite close to European society. It's not “Western” - it's definitely not located in the US. My beta liked it – she was not so fond of High School or College AU fics. You can see it from the fact that people play (European) football, the most popular sport of the world, or that the boys walk everywhere. They don't need cars. (That's something I wonder about in fics that are set in the US: all young people there seem to have cars. Here they often cannot afford them, and people who live in towns don't really need them, as you can go by bike or on foot or use the public transport system.) 

I also remembered how someone asked me about the chapter “victim, not perpetrator” where the social worker explains to Sasuke and Naruto that in Music Town Itachi would not have been put to trial for murdering the clan. I got a review for this from someone who found that strange. She thought that he should have been hold responsible under juvenile law – which is, as I understand it, even milder than what's normal in the US, namely that children who commit serious crimes are charged as adults. 

Now for me it's normal that children who are younger than fourteen aren't charged at all. They are not yet responsible for what they do – not with murder. (Of course they are responsible for not doing their homework, and they should be punished for it in an adequate way.) For me it's not understandable how someone might put a child to trial. But that's culture... 

But even though most of the culture in Music Town is based on what I know I did not intend the story to be about “Western” versus “non-Western” values. I intended it to be a story about teenagers from a world that's torn apart by war coming to a place that has enjoyed peace for several decades. I based that place on what I know, simply because it is what I know, and the inhabitants of Music Town are based on the people I live with, and I like most of them, even though I don't identify with them. 

(If there's any characters in the story whose views are more or less my own it's those from the university.) 

But of course even though some details are based on what I know, Music Town is much better than any real place. Most of all its treatment of immigrants is what is really utopian about it: any person who wants to pursue a musical career is welcomed, and people are easily accepted as refugees on the condition that they learn to dance and to play a musical instrument. (This one was inspired by “Harold and Maude,” but I got it wrong: There it's singing and dancing.) 

There's other ways in which Sasuke's and Naruto's situation is easier than the situation of real refugees in Europe or elsewhere: they don't have to deal with the problem of not speaking the language, and they don't have many problems with money. Like this they can focus on getting adapted to the new culture and don't have to worry about their survival. This is of course unrealistic. 

I got the idea to the story when at some point of the manga (shortly after chapter 400) I realized that the so-called Narutoverse is in fact a very horrible world. Normally escapism is a motivation to read fantasy, but who would want to escape to a world as the Narutoverse? Our own world is much better. So I let the boys escape to a place that resembles our own world, a place where people have learnt about civilian ways of life, while the Narutoverse is dominated by war. 

My other motivation was that I wanted to write a story where Naruto finds a way to help Sasuke out of his state of mind where he's only focused on revenge without using violence (“beating some sense into him” - as if this had ever worked.) And from these two ideas an overlong story sprung into existence.


End file.
